The Perfect Storm
by Katzedecimal
Summary: The White Triangle have returned but are they acting alone? Is destroying the UP their only goal? How can the Legion stop it when they don't even know what's going on? the original Perfect Storm was a massive storm with a hurricane imbedded in it. Post-ZH
1. Snowflakes

Snowflakes

_"It's started."_

_"Yes. Some people have no imagination."_

* * *

The command center was deserted. Kid Quantum sat in her chair, reviewing her notes and chewing on her stylus. She glanced up as the door opened and smiled as Cosmic Boy approached and sat beside her.

"'Morning, sweetie," she grinned.

"What're you doing, you working too hard again?" Rokk smiled, knowing how ironic that statement was, "Going over the status quo?"

"Yes. Sensor's turned in her notice."

Rokk winced but nodded, "I wondered how long it would be. I've been expecting it for ages. Frankly, I'm surprised she held out this long."

"So am I," Jazmin sighed, "I think it's been our acceptance that's kept her this long, but she really isn't..." She searched for a suitable word but gave up and shook her head. The mentalist's transformation had been more than she could take. Everyone knew Jeka was on a downward spiral.

"Any idea what she's going to do?" Rokk asked softly.

Jazmin shook her head again, "I don't know." She sighed, "Garth's on indefinite leave. He's gone to Samnor for an undetermined length of time."

Rokk nodded, "That'll be good for him. If there's anybody who's going through more hell than Jeka, it's Garth."

"Yes. The irony is, Jan probably would've been tickled pink by that development."

Rokk chuckled, "He probably would. His people worshipped change and were big on recycling." Jazmin laughed out loud at that.

"Apparition's asked for a stay of field service, though she'll remain active for monitor duty and some covert activities."

"The Legion's version of a stay-at-home mom."

"Pretty much. And of course, Monstress is gone."

Rokk nodded, "Time to start looking at some recruits. Anyone promising among the cadets?"

"That's where I've been looking. Lydda Jath exhibits super-strength, even more powerful than Monstress. She comes from Kathoon."

"That's the night world, right?"

"Right - Kathoon's orbit is so far out that its primary looks like just another star in the sky, albeit it's the brightest star in their sky. Hence her codename, Nox. Her power works basically the opposite of a Daxamite: Strong sunlight saps it."

"Sounds like a candidate for extra-terrestrial missions. Outer space is pretty damn dark."

Jazmin nodded, "And if she's teamed with Umbra, there should be no problems." She tweaked her reader to the next omnipage, "Another natural team are Brek Bannin and Staq Mavlen, codenames Fire and Ice..."

"Other way around," Rokk interrupted, "Brek's Ice, Staq's Fire."

"Oh, did I get it mixed? So I did. Anyways, they've gained enough control over their powers to be given serious consideration. So has Virus, Drura Sehpt, although I'm not sure how useful she'd be in combat. She might be better in espionage."

"How 'bout interrogation? She can threaten to give 'em a nasty flu if they don't 'fess up," Rokk grinned, "'Virus?' I thought she was going by 'Infectious Lass?'"

"She decided it was a bit much to say in the heat of battle," Jazz grinned, "Lyle called it the 'Romana Factor,' whatever that means."

"With that bunch of nerds, who knows? I don't understand half the things they say and I gave up trying, years ago. What about the Robotican cadet?"

"Babbage? Still has some issues."

"Prejudice?"

"Argues. If it.. he.. finds a flaw in your instruction, he won't adapt it, he'll argue about it. Even Brainy finds that exasperating."

Rokk nodded, "And Brainy's got a soft spot for the Roboticans. Sounds like we're putting Fire, Ice, Nox and Virus up for try-outs, then."

"I'm glad you agree," Jazmin grinned, and leaned over for smooch.

The door slid open and there was a momentary pause. "I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that developing a sensor to automatically lock doors upon detection of rising pheromones is on my list of things to do."

Jazmin giggled. "Good morning, Brainy. You're late, I expected you almost thirty seconds ago," she teased.

"I slept in."

"Like it makes a difference anyway," Rokk grinned, "You're always here two minutes early and nobody even starts trickling in until at least five minutes after the meeting's due to start."

"Of course. I make it a point to arrive early just so I can have the pleasure of giving them arch looks for being late," Brainy smirked.

"Got your briefs ready?" Jazmin asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Thong today, actually. Laurel seems to appreciate it." The sip went up her nose.

Rokk laughed, "You deserved that one, Jazz. 'Morning, Lyle, Imra... 'Morning, Ayla, coffee's on."

"..whzbg.."

They waited until the majority of active Legionnaires had assembled and arrayed themselves around the conference table. When she was satisfied that they were at least moderately alert, Kid Quantum rose and cleared her throat, "Okay, first item up for bid, as we know Garth is going on indefinite leave and Kinetix is undecided about whether she'll be returning. Apparition's standing down from field service although she'll stay on comms and monitor duty. Sensor turned in her notice this morning." She looked around at the murmur of dejection that ran around the room. "So, we're looking at holding try-outs for Legion cadets Fire, Ice, Nox and Virus, all in favour yadda yadda? Cham?"

"S'okay by me," Chameleon replied, "They're all good, in every sense of the word that I can think of."

"'Kay, motion carried, yadda yadda. Okay, then... Brainy, what's behind door number two?"

Brainiac 5 didn't bother to stand at meetings anymore; he had the room's full attention. "As we know, it's been suspected for some time now that the White Triangle is up to their old tricks again, starting with the spreading of rumours and creation of racial tension in an effort to disrupt interplanetary co-operation. It appears that someone got ahold of some information about our visitor Connor Kent, namely that he was actually an enhanced clone of a Terran man rather than a clone of the real Kal-El."

Cosmic Boy closed his eyes and cringed, "And since he'd made himself so visible..."

"Quite. Some clever yob sowed the rumour that the Last Son was actually human, chosen by the spirit of the Earth. The rumour implies that the story that Kal-El was the last Kryptonian survivor is a plant by the United Planets in an effort to undermine species pride."

Groans ran around the room and Cosmic Boy's hand fluttered up to his forehead. "There are so many believers in the Spirit of the Last Son... Nothing starts a fight faster than religion."

Brainiac nodded, "Quite so. Earth being the origin of the United Planets idea, not to mention of many of the U.P. races, it's clear that the idea was to cause the Terran people to believe they'd been lied to."

"A repeat of the President Chu business," Cosmic Boys sighed.

"Except that it backfired."

"What?"

"Remember the Valor thing some years ago? The Legion rescued Valor who then mysteriously disappeared? Well, some _other_ clever yob put two and two together and came up with seven: Now there's a rumour that our Superboy _was_ Valor, in disguise." Brainy grinned widely as M'Onel bashed his head repeatedly against the back of his chair. "This is having some very interesting effects on the Last Son believers."

Cos rubbed his temples, "Oh grife..."

"Oh yes," Brainy grinned, "The thinking is leaning in the direction that, if Superboy _was_ Valor, then the _spirit _of the Spirit of the Last Son belief is upheld, because both Superman and Valor embodied similar qualities. Also, Valor was known to have been a Daxamite. Ergo, if Valor _was_ hanging around disguised as Superboy, then he clearly approved of Superman, whether Superman was human or not."

"Oh my god!!" The room burst into a clamour of outraged, confused and laughing voices.

"But I thought the Spirit of the Last Son was a secular belief?" Triad asked.

Cosmic Boy sighed, "It is, but that's not going to matter. We've been seeing that already; the seven Orders of the Brides and Brothers of the Last Son aren't exactly secular. The shift was occuring even before Superboy showed up; that just helped it along.

"And now that it's the target of the White Triangle's propaganda machine, that sentiment is going to get stronger," Kid Quantum added.

"But then what would be the point of telling people that Superboy was Valor?"

Brainiac 5 leaned forward, "The end result of that rumour has been to blunt the effects of the White Triangle's rumour. From that result, we can extrapolate that the rumour's originators recognised that the Last Son belief was becoming more religious and chose to work with it, rather than against it."

Violet chewed her fingernail thoughtfully for several minutes, listening, before she spoke up, "There's the question of why. Whomever seeded the second rumour, what's their goal? Why'd they do it? Are they trying to stop the Triangle's efforts or do they have their own agenda?"

Kid Quantum nodded, "And we have no answers. We've known for a while that the White Triangle were regrouping but this is the first time we've had solid evidence that there's another group operating here. A new player's joined the game and we know nothing at all about them."

"And they've made a spectacular opening gambit," Cosmic Boy agreed, "Whoever they are, they're not amateurs."

Kid Quantum nodded and continued, "Our next area of concern is transportation. Like the old stargates, the thresholds are vulnerable. Officer Erin is working with the Science Police to post guards on the thresholds at all times."

"It's important for everyone to understand that the Kwai are in great danger," Cosmic Boy continued, "They're necessary for the thresholds to function: They _will_ be targetted. Being alien, they won't be exterminated kindly."

Imra nodded, "Understood. We brought Shikari's people here and asked them to be the thresholds' guides; we have a responsibility towards them."

"We do have a contingency plan in place," Brainiac 5 noted, "But it's subject to the same limitations. It'd be better to prevent the need, if we can."

"And to do that, we have to stop the White Triangle."

* * *

_"It's started."_

_"Yes. Some people have no imagination."_

_"Once it's started, it can't be stopped."_

_"No. But it can be steered."_

_A hand came down and placed a coloured tile on the floor_.

_**click**_


	2. Snowboarding

Snowboarding

The seventh planet in Durla's system was far enough out from the homeworld to be safe, but close enough to be lucrative. It had been an important provisioning port even before the development of the stargates had turned it into a major transfer point. Since the thresholds, its city had regained its position as a point of call.

Most knew Samnor as a busy cosmopolis where everything cost a bloody fortune. There were tolls to use the threshold, tolls to enter the city, taxes, duties and levies on just about every item and service. Despite the prices, the city bustled with commerce. Most people knew this, so some were a little puzzled when they were asked, as were all visitors to Samnor, if they were visiting the main city or the inner city. But if they were puzzled, they soon forgot about it, in Samnor's heady, trendy atmosphere.

Few knew about the inner city. The inner city was as primitive as the main city was sophisticated: There were no modern conveniences, not even sonic showers. There were no omnicoms. There were no intoxicants. There was no gambling. There were no prostitutes. There was no music, save that which people sang themselves. There were no entertainments. If anyone danced here, it was to the tunes in their own heads.

Here, the reason for the taxes and tolls and high prices became apparent: They subsidised the inner city's inhabitants. In the inner city, the Order houses provided the necessities of life -- food, clothing, shelter and medicine. Andromeda had come here, after she'd left the Legion; Chameleon had suggested it. She'd talked to the various Valorite order houses here, and through them, learned about the Order of the Eternal Cosmos. They didn't have an order house here at the time, but they did now -- Andromeda had established one, after she was ordained.

Garth Ranzz knew about the inner city. He sat under an awning, watching the street. Most people sat in the shade of buildings or awnings, drowsing in the heat. Others walked in the streets, some moving purposefully, others just wandering. Nobody bothered him. He'd been recognised a few times, but nobody came up to talk to him. Nobody asked him for an autograph. If anyone noticed his crystalline form, their eyes flicked away again without acknowledging him. That was the rule.

_It's no wonder Brainy loves it here,_ Garth thought. That had surprised a lot of Legionnaires, that Brainiac 5, who'd so hated the technologically-primitive 20th Century Earth, loved Samnor's inner city -- until they remembered that he hadn't minded prison. They'd let him think in peace, apart from the occasional attempt to mind-rape him with rogue telepaths. Here, in this city of no interruptions and no distractions, he could really let his mind fly free.

Garth sipped his lemon water and sighed. Chamelon had suggested he come here as a retreat, to get away from it all and let his thoughts and feelings sort themselves out. He wasn't sure what distressed him more, having been resurrected in another man's body, or that his fiancee had rejected him because of it. Rejected yet not rejected; he felt like a fish hooked on a line, jerked about and hurting but unable to let go.

He held the glass in front of him and transmuted it to crystal, then to terra cotta. The water within was untouched; he was getting much better at controlling Jan's power. He still had his lightning, too. He was no longer a twin -- that was taking some getting used to. That was such a large part of Winathan identity, yet somehow it didn't upset him as much as he thought it should. Instead he felt something akin to relief and that disturbed him. He knew the reason why, and that disturbed him more.

He drained his glass and got up to get a refill. Currently he was staying with one of the Durlan orders. When Cham had described the inner city's welfare system, Garth had been afraid that he'd be subjected to sermons. He'd been surprised to learn that proselytising was strictly forbidden. The various Orders lived their teachings and didn't preach. That was the rule of Samnor: You found your own way, by yourself, or you didn't.

He refilled his glass and joined a few Durlans in the scullery, to help with the dishes. Sometimes, he did this by transmuting the particles to other elements and dispersing them; today, he chose the very-old-fashioned method of hands in soapy water. _Only three weeks here and already with the revelations,_ he thought, swabbing a rag around the rim of a bowl,_ I'm jealous of my sister. Always have been. 'Anything I can do, she can do better,' that's the way it's always been. Better behaved, better friends, better control of her power, better control of her temper. Only now, it's different._ He looked into the dirty water and transmuted the food soil into water molecules, rendering it clean again. He had to add a little more soap; not that good yet. _Now we're not twins anymore. We're not the same anymore. Now I have Jan's powers. Stolen powers, stolen body._ He passed the last of the bowls over to one of the Durlans who were drying, and picked up a platter._ Or maybe Jan stole my powers and my mind. Maybe Jan stole my soul. I'm either thief or thiefed. Thieved? Thoven? _He finished the last pot and cleaned the water once more before going back outside.

Samnor gave him time to think and time to listen. He had much to think about and much to listen to. Whistling softly, Garth walked to the city gate and paid toll to enter the main city, to find an omnicom.

* * *

The lab door irised open. Brainiac 5 didn't look away from his omnicom screen, "'Morning, Koko."

"G'morning, sir." Kent Shakespeare was on duty today. His Legion uniform was modelled on the old uniform of his sister, Andromeda. He had the same starburst over his chest and the same 'starfield' fabric extended down his legs and arms. However, over top of it he wore his habitual trench coat and shades. Although he'd gotten over his shyness around his brother-in-law, calling him 'sir' had become something of a running joke, especially after Brainy had retaliated by calling him 'Koko.' That confused most people, who took it as belittling Kent's intelligence. Kent, however, had learned a fair bit about the original Impulse and the odd, unexpected friendship he'd had with Brainiac 5. "What're we doing today, Brainiac?" he asked.

"The same thing we do every day, Koko -- try to blow up the lab," Querl grinned and stretched.

"I've finished the list of all considered forms of FTL and instant-relocation travel," Kent reported.

"All of them?"

"Yes, sir."

"Absolutely all of them?" Querl arched a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. Including the Infinite Improbability Drive, sir."

Querl beamed, "Excellent! There may be hope for you yet."

"Although I think it may take more than just a cup of tea, sir. But I made a pot anyways."

"You're learning well, young padawan." He looked up as the door irised open again, then closed, "'Morning, Lyle."

Lyle Norg faded into view, startling Kent as usual. The Daxamite boy didn't quite trust Lyle; his habit of walking into the lab invisible, when he didn't need to be invisible, didn't sit well with Kent. That was because he hadn't learned why yet; Lyle knew it was only a matter of time before Kent wished for the same trick. "'Morning Brainy, Kent... What is it with you guys and tea, anyways?" He himself had his customary soda.

"It affords me a mild stimulant without intoxicating effects and without the uncouth eructation that the rest of you primates seem to enjoy." Lyle replied to that by eructating mightily, causing Querl to roll his eyes and shake his head.

**"I** learned that it's a strong Brownian motion producer," Kent declared loyally, "Tea may one day power the universe."

"Oh grife, you're not still thinking of that thing, are you, Brainy? That was _fiction! _The worst kind of pseudo-science fiction, at that. You can't just pull a miracle engine out of thin air, out of a cup of tea and a fairy cake. What is fairy cake, anyways?"

Querl shrugged, "A cupcake, I believe."

"Anyways, Rond and I were thinking about boom tubes last night..."

Querl pinched the bridge of his nose, "Is that another one of your puerile euphamisms?"

"Ha ha ha. No. I mean the Apokaliptian transport," Lyle said, sticking his tongue out.

Querl snorted. "Yes, I've considered those as well. As far as I can tell, no one's been able to figure out exactly how they work, let alone replicate the technology. The transdimensional nature of the Motherboxes is likely a factor."

"The thing about them is that they allow the individual user to open a gate," Lyle said, "That's what we need, something that can be ship-mounted, that doesn't rely on a vulnerable third-party."

Kent spoke up hesitantly, "The stargates and thresholds, you have to know where you're going in order to get there, right? I mean, you have to know your destination co-ordinates. So you can't really explore anywhere, right?"

"Right, and if you do wind up stranded, you can't hook up to another gate. You're stuck, like Kinetix was."

"Another problem with the thresholds is we're running out of Kwai," Querl grinned, "Have you seen the line-ups at Basingstoke?"

Lyle laughed and nodded, "Yes, demand has far outstripped supply."

"I was thinking..." Kent was still hesitant, "Maybe something like a... vortex? I mean, you know like how a tornado moves around? It's not fixed at the other end? If a ship could generate something like that?"

Querl had an odd smirk on his face, "A wormhole."

"...oh."

"People have been working on that one for centuries. No one's been able to get past the basic problems," Lyle sighed, then couldn't resist the pot-shot, "Not even Brainy."

"Maybe if I weren't constantly being interrupted," Querl shot back.

On cue, the Omnicom window activated and showed Cosmic Boy, "Brainy, have you been watching the metas?" Lyle and Kent fell about laughing while Querl gestured theatrically at the comm.

"Case in point. To what would you be referring, Cos?"

"Just the general direction of the conversations. Now people are saying that Superboy went back to the 21st Century because he was satisfied with what had been done in his name - both his and Valor's, for those who still believe the two were different individuals."

Lyle nodded, "At least the average joe seems to remember the other White Triangle events. There's a lot of talk about the U.P. once again being under attack by insane terrorists. Now they're talking about going after the Triangle themselves, launching a military strike or something."

"And God help anyone who voices a dissenting opinion," Rokk agreed.

"Yes," said Brainiac at last, "It's all classic propaganda technique but it's been turned on its ear."

"What do you mean?"

Querl took a sip of his tea and tented his fingers, composing his thoughts. "Propaganda technique seeks to target the narcissism, tribalism and emotion of the intended audience. Everyone likes to believe that they're part of some greater whole, and divide into 'us' and 'them.' We've seen how the White Triangle appeals to such basic thinking, appealing to racial pride, dividing between the pure races and the gene-trash and using the fear of war to create the reality. Nothing new there. But now we're seeing something rather interesting. The 'United Planets great leap forward' as an appeal to nationalism and narcissism, withstanding the two prior attempts at dissolution as an appeal to pride, defusing the militants by telling them that they're giving the Triangle what it wants. Plus the added touch of telling them that God is on their side, in this case Superboy."

"You've noticed the third voice in the arguments? Whenever someone asks if Superboy would come back to fight alongside us?"

"The argument that Superboy and Valor would not only be disappointed by our failure to uphold ourselves, but go to some other century where the people were more worthy? Yes, I thought that was a clever touch, given the earlier point. People are a little more willing to consider such things, when they've seen their messiah on their Omnicom screens."

"Yes," Rokk sighed, "If this pans out alright, I might even have to forgive him for that stunt."

"That stunt is still being used by the White Triangle to fortify **their** efforts."

"Too true. So far, the prevailing opinion is of the third voice. People are denouncing the militants as anti-U.P. and anti-Superboy."

Querl sighed and rubbed his forehead, "If it's like this here, I can only imagine what Laurel's facing on Daxam."

Cos nodded sympathetically, "We know you're worried, Brainy."

Querl shrugged. "Worrying is unproductive. She has her job to do, as I have mine," he gave the screen a pointed look.

Cos nodded, "Just one more thing... What do you know about Pandora?"

"The Greek myth or the clandestine group?"

"So you do know something."

"Very little at this point, save that it exists. Whomever they are, they're experienced at dirty politics."

"So you've also concluded that they're our mysterious third player."

"Was there anything else you wanted, Cosmic Boy? I do have a lot of work to do."

Rokk smirked. "Kent, you're on monitor duty in ten," he said, then ended the call.

Kent drained his cup and stood up. "Who're you on with?" Lyle asked him.

"Star Boy."

Querl snorted, "Oh good, you can hone your ability to control circular arguments. It'd be fun watching him chase his tail if it weren't so sad." Kent grinned and waved as he walked out.

"Y'know," Lyle said, after he'd gone, "It's almost scary how quickly you two got friendly."

Querl shrugged, "Not really. Laurel told us we'd be seeing a lot of each other so we'd better get used to it now, and threatened us with Consequences if we didn't."

"Ha! I can just imagine. So what **do** you know about Pandora?"

"I just said."

"And you cut Cos off. He's not that stupid, he knows what that means by now. You know more than what you said."

"I know enough to know that I'm best on the left hand."

"Eh?"

"You're familiar with the phrase 'the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing?'"

_"Ah. _So Laurel **is** involved." Lyle had the satisfaction of seeing Brainy twitch an eyebrow in surprise, "I thought to myself, 'Are there any religious leaders who would use their influence to counter the White Triangle's rumours and yet be careful what they said about Valor in case he chose to come out of hiding?' -- and presto, a name just sprang to mind." Brainy said nothing but the slight narrowing of his eyes was all the answer Lyle needed. "And if Laurel's involved, then probably so is Leejah. Those two are pretty close," he added, "Is Cham?"

"You tell me. You're the espionage squad."

"We're not Pandora. Anyways, that's all I've been able to piece together, so far. That 'clever touch' about Valor heading off to some worthier century had 'Laurel' written all over it."

"Yes, it did," Querl sighed, "Because I heard her say it." He shrugged at Lyle's surprise, "Some nuns were arguing in the Order house. She countered the arguments and you know how many drifters hang around in the Orders. It was deliberate."

"What's bothering you about it? That she's involved?"

"No, I expected that. Quite frankly, that's why she was ordained, to give her this kind of power."

"Makes sense. So?"

"Laurel initially attempted to do as any honest person would do, present facts and rational thinking and try to get people to be reasonable. But now she's suddenly using reverse-propaganda."

"So? Maybe she saw that logic wasn't working."

"Lyle, she grew up being told what to think and believing blindly. She came to her individuality at a great price. She cherishes freedom of thought and encourages it. That's why she loves Samnor so much. Telling people what to think, manipulating their beliefs... That's not her. Yet she's doing so and she's using a complete propaganda plan, with every angle accounted for. As clever as my wife is, she just doesn't think that way. She prefers to let people choose what to believe, not lead them around like sheep, let alone come up with a detailed plan to do so."

"Leejah? She was one of the 'living weapons,' she'd understand the kind of thinking that produced her."

"Laurel understands the kind of thinking that produced _her._ That doesn't mean they think that way themselves. It _does_ make them effective at fighting it. They have incentive."

"Which is why they're using the propaganda plan," Lyle nodded.

"Exactly. But whomever gave them the plan knows how to steer the tide of public opinion. They know what they're doing, they're smart, and they know how to fight dirty, which is something we don't. We're too honest, too rational. Pandora's got someone who knows how the enemy thinks and knows how to fight fire with fire. _That's_ what's got me worried -- someone that clever, that experienced, what's their ulterior motive?"

"Maybe they don't have one. C'mon, Brainy, not everyone who's super-intelligent is out to rule the universe. **You're** not."

"I don't have experience with steering political tides, either."

"You could. It's all a matter of manipulation and God knows you're good enough at that."

"Waste of my time - _that's _the key difference. I can't be bothered, who cares what a bunch of primates want to think, as long as it doesn't disrupt my research."

"Ooo, that's cold," Lyle grinned. He nodded, conceding the point, "Okay, well then, maybe they've got assets to protect. There're a lot of powerful people who'll lose their businesses - again - if we lose instant-transfer again."

"I've considered that possibility. However, with McCauley dead, none of the remainder show this level of political skill. More importantly, Laurel wouldn't trust them."

"Ah right, I was forgetting. Wait, you think she's that high up in this Pandora? You sure she's not being played as a pawn again?"

"I'm certain of that."

Lyle shrugged, "Well if Laurel knows so much, why can't you just..."

"Because she won't tell me!" Querl cut him off, "And I can't force her, not without disrupting our personal relationship. Someone banked on that, as well."

"Which is why you can't tell Cos," Lyle said, understanding.

"He'd try to make me. He'd go on about the safety of the galaxy and the needs of the many versus the needs of the few. It's not his marriage that'd be destroyed for the sake of curiosity," Querl said bitterly.

"On the other hand, as you yourself just said, it _is_ something to worry about. It _is_ a matter of galactic security."

"Yes, and if you were _listening,_ I also said that this is why Laurel was ordained! Cos will just have to trust her, same as I have to. She's got a job to do and we have to trust her to do it, just like you all trust me to prevent another stargate disaster."

Lyle looked at Querl out of the corner of his eye. His friend only got that snappish with him when he was feeling really stressed. He reached out and rubbed Querl's back, keeping to the shoulder blades. "we're so used to you pulling miracles out of your nass, we take it for granted," he said gently, "Who was it who said that the penalty for being the best was having to be the best? Joachim Mazzd, right?"

"No."

Lyle shrugged, then asked softly, "Why didn't you go to Daxam with her?"

Querl shook his head, "No point. She needs to be a Daxamite speaking to Daxamites. Where she needs other races, she has sisters of her Order, who know their material. I've recreated her light-belt technology with bioelectronic subcutaneous implants, and she has one of my old forcefield belts. It's the best I can do, to protect her; it's what I'd do if I were there. My presence would be superfluous at best, detrimental to her mission at worst. I'm of better use here, trying to pull another miracle out of my viscera."

Lyle nodded. "Well... I'll let you get to it, then. I'll come taser you at noon. I promised Laurel I'd take care of you while she was gone."

"Thanks."

Lyle turned to leave, then looked back, "Oh... Brainy? I just have to know... You didn't _really_ ever try the... y'know..."

"The finite-improbability generator and the cup of hot tea? Yes. It doesn't work, obviously."

"Not even with fairy cake?"

"No. Incidently, the fairy cake was used to power the Total Perspective Vortex, not the Infinite Improbability drive."

"Does the Total Perspective Vortex work?"

"I haven't had occasion to try it. The hypothesis, however, is surprisingly sound. Unlike the hypothesis of the Infinite Improbability drive, unfortunately."

"Right. Gotcha," Lyle nodded, "See you later then. I'll come get you for lunch."

Querl turned back to his omnicom, picked up his cooling tea and took a thoughtful sip, "Bistromathics, on the other hand..."

* * *

_"Public opinion is still with the United Planets. The Triangle will have to work harder, to counter it."_

_"Mother Andromeda's mission will prove to be a thorn, no matter how it turns out. What about the Legion?"_

_"They haven't got enough information to act upon."_

_"There's Brainiac 5..."_

_"He cares more about research than about galactic affairs."_

_"Good. That leaves... Pandora."_

_"Yes."_


	3. Blizzard

Blizzard

_Daxam:_

"That was a wonderful class!"

"I know! I understand so much better now! She explains it all so well!"

"Hm," said the third novice, "It's not... _really_ Valorism though, is it. Most of it comes from... other worlds."

The first novice looked at her, "Valor was a Daxamite but he didn't stay here. He went out into the galaxy to learn wisdom and he developed his teachings, but he didn't come back to teach us."

"Perhaps that's because we didn't need it," the third novice sniffed.

"Or maybe we weren't worthy," snapped the second novice. The third novice glared at her. The second novice ignored it, "We're so lucky that Mother Andromeda has come to share the teachings with us."

The third novice rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "Weren't you listening to her? She said Valor didn't develop those teachings himself, she said they were developed later! She said the Tree of Life teachings came from... _Earth."_

"She also said Valor approved of them."

"Oh, _please._ Nobody can say for sure what Valor did and didn't do or what he would have endorsed."

The second novice shrugged, "It could be. They say that Valor was freed from his eternal torment."

"Alive and Daxamite!" the first novice enthused, "They say he walks among us, even now!"

"The Legion freed him from the Phantom Zone. Mother Andromeda was a Legionnaire at the time; she may even have witnessed it. She might even know him."

"But if anyone asks her about it, they always get a cagey answer," the first novice said craftily, "And she _did_ meet Superboy!"

**"That** was a fake," the third novice sneered, "He wasn't even a real Kryptonian. He was a _human."_ She spat the last word, then turned on her heel and stalked away. The other two novices watched her go.

"...White Triangle?"

"Ya think?"

* * *

_Legion World:_

The databanks of Colu had ceased to be centralized; they'd learned from that. Now it was spread among a number of integrated components, linked from a main core; they hadn't learned that much. The level of security was sophisticated, being designed to keep out one particular man: If _he_ couldn't hack into it, it was certain that nobody else in the galaxy could.

Unfortunately for Colu, the system designers thought like Coluans and therefore didn't expect Brainiac 5 not to. They didn't expect him to acknowledge one of his major shortcomings and they definitely hadn't expected him to recruit some friends to compensate. In short, he had simply shown the problems to Rond, Lyle and Kent, told them how he would approach it, then sat back and watched the resulting hurricane of chaotic, nonsensical creativity. It took them slightly less than five hours to brainstorm their way through the best, most devious, but frankly most unimaginitive information security system in the spiral arm.

Once he'd seen how it was done, the entire system was laid pretty much open before him. The Coluan databanks were rich sources of information: More than once, some nugget of information had become the nucleus of some miracle he'd built around it. The general library yielding little that he didn't already know, he turned his attention to the databanks of notes kept by his forebears. They might have had observations about individual instant-travel that might spark some ideas. Finding them took another hour but accessing them was the work of a few minutes, the encryptions on them being mere variations of the locks on the rest of the system.

He sighed, _Some people have no imagination and they're called Coluans. _Himself included. He'd long since ceased to chide himself for that fact; he was simply too rational, too logical to accept the kind of nonsense that led to creative thinking. He'd made his peace with it, however: Quite often, the most ludicrous, reality-defying idea had proven to be the one that worked. Then he would spend months tearing his hair out, trying to figure out _why_ it had worked. The world was saved, a good time was had by all and everything was, as Lyle would say, 'hunky-dorey.'

One of the problems with faster-than-light travel was that nobody had thought to define how much faster than light they meant. A millenium ago, there had been FTL technologies that permitted rapid transit between stars, but most of those had been lost during the Robot Wars of the 25th Century. Subsequently, the galaxy had had to rely on the fusion drive. While certainly faster than light, travel between worlds still took months between nearer worlds, a year or more to the outlying regions. Interplanetary commerce was expensive, unprofitable and impractical. The stargates had changed all of that, but they, like the Thresholds, were too vulnerable.

The Brainiacs' databases yielded quite a few interesting hypotheses on the subject, and Vril Dox II had had some thoughts on boom tubes that matched up with his own. He downloaded them and made a note to explore them more fully, then turned his attention to once again trying to find the notes of Brainiac 4. He'd searched for them for years and found the occasional tantalizing lead, but had yet to find them. He had no doubt that they were _somewhere,_ parted out and heavily encrypted. Since he'd searched for so long and found nothing, he expected they had been taken from the communal databanks and put onto separate storage media. They wouldn't have been deleted entirely -- this was _Colu,_ after all.

Whether or not Brainiac 4 had had anything to say on the subject of space travel was almost beside the point, really. Whenever he went searching for them, he turned up other goodies that inevitably proved interesting, making the exercise worth while. Scandals, competing factions, secret projects -- it was amazing the things he could find while poking around, looking for his mother's notes.

Things like this. Querl nearly missed it, nearly dismissed it as unimportant but something made him look at it again. He followed the leads around, patiently reconstructing them. Then, with a disbelieving look, opened an omnipage into the Legion's security archives. He found it quickly enough, corrupted and half-erased because Sharn Nux was an utter incompetant at covering her tracks. Reconstructing it didn't take long.

He stared, unable to credit what his ears were hearing or his eyes were seeing. He replayed it, then replayed it again. He saved it to his personal omnicom and locked it with his own encryptions, then withdrew from both systems, carefully leaving no traces of his activity.

When he was done, he stared unseeing at the darkened screens. The shock and despair felt worse than when his mother had tried to kill him. "Robotica..."

* * *

_Samnor, Durla 7:_

The weather in Samnor was holding hot, dry and dusty enough to parch Garth's throat. He took a long swallow of lemon water and sighed. He'd been thinking about Mekt a lot, lately. No surprise there, he'd always thought about Mekt. Mekt, his older brother, born solo on a world of twins -- in the eyes of their society, a defect.

But not to Garth. To Garth, Mekt was the brother he looked up to and loved. He'd never thought of Mekt as stained, but as unique. When the accident occurred that had given them all their lightning powers, Garth had hoped that it would give Mekt the sense of belonging that he needed. Instead, it had driven Mekt further away, and his attempts to reach out to Mekt had cost Garth his arm.

_Bit of a moot point, now,_ he thought. Now that he had Jan Arrah's crystalline body, he had both arms intact. He flexed his crystal fingers, watching the sparks dance along. He still had his own lightning powers, in addition to Jan's transmutation abilities. _Why? If I'm my mind in Jan's body, I shouldn't have my lightning, should I?_ He shook his head - just one of a zillion questions he had no answers for.

It had to have been hard on Ayla, suddenly being a singleton. He hadn't seen much of her, either, since he'd woken up in Jan's form. The two most important women in his life and they were avoiding him. From what he'd heard, Ayla had latched onto Mekt - probably as his replacement, whether consciously or unconsciously. _And I'm okay with that._

He shouldn't be. He and Ayla were twins, they were supposed to be inseparable. He wasn't supposed to be okay with having been rendered utterly unique. _I think... I think I always **wanted** to be an individual,_ he thought, _I was so happy when R.J. founded the Legion on Cos, Imra and I. I'd done something different - me, Garth Ranzz. And then they gave Ayla my place in the Legion. _He sighed, discouraged,_ It all sounds so bloody childish._ Childish or not, the feelings were there. He was the solo now, the unique individual... and he was okay with that.

He flexed his fingers again, remembering how Jan used to change the elements of his own body. Wondering if he could do that, Garth concentrated, then smiled when his fingers turned to gold. _Gold's such a good conductor of electricity,_ he thought, watching the sparks sizzle, _I can really feel it. I wouldn't try to zap anyone like this, though, I'd probably kill them._ Still, this gave him some intriguing ideas for how to vary the power of his lightning further. There were many conducive metals.

He got up and walked out towards the gate into the main city. He enjoyed walking its streets as much as he enjoyed the inner city. He kept his eyes and ears open, because there was a lot to see and hear, Samnor being such a unique port of call. The Durla junction's Threshold lounge was a good place for people-watching. He chuckled to himself, _And this was supposed to be a retreat. Guess I just can't stop being a Legionnaire._ Not that this hadn't proven fruitful. He kept on top of the rumours and watched the tide of popular thought. He'd spotted several White Triangle Daxamites. Now that he knew what to look for, they were surprisingly easy to distinguish: The rare Joe Average Daxamites tended to be aloof and suspicious, whereas the Triangle members were arrogant. Their non-Daxamite agents were harder to spot. Fortunately, the Triangle's superiority complex extended to believing that the lesser races were prone to incompetance: If agents were suspected, they were simply observed until their inevitable meeting with their Daxamite supervisor. Slowly, the Science Police were making dents in the White Triangle cells.

He looked up and frowned - was that who he thought it was? He watched the person pass then got up to follow discreetly. He followed her through the main city streets and made a bet with himself about where she was headed. Times like this, he found himself wishing he had Lyle's invisibility or Vi's ability to shrink.. even super-hearing would be useful. He had to make do with a micro-holocorder set to max, and hope he could filter out the background noise later.

When he judged he had enough, he pocketted the recorder and took a bus across the city to lose himself in the crowds.

* * *

_Daxam:_

"Your tea, Reverend Mother."

"Ahh, thank you, Sister." Mother Andromeda pushed her hands through her hair before taking the cup. She pushed back her chair, took a sip and sighed.

"Are you alright, Reverend Mother?"

Laurel nodded, "Yes. I'm just tired."

The other nun nodded, "It's been a long day. The classes went well though, I thought. I feel certain that many of those who attended will return to Samnor with us." Laurel nodded and stared into her teacup, swirling the contents idly. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just homesick," Laurel sighed then smiled wryly, "Yes, I know... homesick, on Daxam? I miss my family, that's all."

"Then your next appointment should please you."

"Huh?" Laurel leaned over to check the scheduler and her eyes widened.

Her assistant smiled, eyes glittering, "Should I send her in?"

"Yes!" Laurel hurriedly raked her fingers through her hair and brushed down her habit, wishing she had time to wash the dust off of herself.

"The Abbess will see you now," the attending sister said, ushering in a tall woman, only slightly shorter than Andromeda herself. In another twenty years, Laurel would look just like her.

**"Mom!" **Laura Gand stood back and surveyed her eldest child with what Laurel felt was disapproval. Finally the older woman smiled and opened her arms. Laurel's tears overflowed and she hugged her mother tightly, "Oh Mother God, Mom, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Laurel."

After a good long hug and cry, Laurel pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Kent found me," she said, "He told me about Lauren. Mom, I'm so sorry."

Laura nodded then shook her head, "I don't know what happened... She was such a good girl..."

_Not like me,_ Laurel thought, fighting down a surge of sibling rivalry. "Kent found me. He's safe," she said again.

Laura nodded. "And you're a nun now. An abbess, I hear."

_Wow, Mom, that would explain why I'm wearing this habit,_ Laurel bit her tongue. Sometimes, she understood Querl's frustration all too well. "I'm married, too," she said, watching her mother carefully.

Laura's lip curled distastefully, "So that **was** true. I'd hoped it was a lie spread by our enemies. You were a disobedient child but I never imagined you would betray your people and consort with gene-trash."

Laurel touched the diamond on her brooch, fighting for her self-control. "He's not gene-trash, Mom. He saved my life when I had lead poisoning, using the same cure that _his_ ancestor had developed for our lord Valor."

"Better you should have died honourably than to allow some alien scum to defile you."

Rage flared along Andromeda's nerves. Her mother's words were igniting childhood fires, putting her right back into her teenage headspace. _I never mattered to you. I was just a route to prestige to you. No matter how hard I tried, I never satisfied your expectations. Our people tried to kill me, after I served them faithfully, and you think I should have died instead of Lauren._ She touched the diamond again, drawing strength from it and from the marriage band she wore. Her brother loved her, her order looked to her... She took a deep breath and settled her thoughts. "Is that what you want?" she asked Laura softly, "If I had died, Lauren would still have died. Kent would still have left. Is that what you want, to have no children at all?"

"It's what I've got," Laura said bitterly.

"It's what you've got," Laurel conceded, "Only now I'm Mother Andromeda. I've got followers and influence, and suddenly I'm worth acknowledging again, isn't that so, Mother?" Laura said nothing. Laurel shook her head and continued, "The hypocrisy was too much for Kent to swallow. Lauren's death was the last straw for him. He came seeking the truth and he found it. He came with me to Trom and he found the truth there."

Laura shook her head, "Trom was a natural disaster. The leaders said..."

"The leaders lied," Laurel pulled off her brooch and laid it in her mother's hand, "Our people murdered Trom. I've walked among the bodies. I've transformed the corpses into diamonds." She indicated the jewel on her brooch and Laura dropped it, recoiling. Laurel caught it and put it back on. "The 'lie of Valor' was a lie too, Mom. Valor _did_ help seed the worlds."

"There is no proof..."

"I've met him," Laurel met her mother's hostile stare with cool tranquility, "The Legion rescued him. He walks the galaxy even now, in disguise, witnessing the results of the works he did a thousand years ago. I've met him and received his blessing." She took her mother's hands and held them, "The White Triangle lied to us, Mom. Valor _did_ seed the worlds. That's why my order works to help anyone, regardless of species or station. We serve the diversity that Valor created."

Abruptly Laura started to cry. "I'm sorry," she wept, "I can't, I just can't."

"Mom? Can't what? Can't accept that?"

"I'm sorry... my daughter... I'm so sorry..."

Laurel put her arms around her hysterically sobbing mother and drew her close, "Mom, it's alright, I forgive you."

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"Mom? _**Mom!"**_

* * *

_Metropolis, Earth:_

President Wazzo had never approved of the Legion. Mainly, she felt they were too young to hold such responsibilities and were apt to be the fools who rushed in where angels - who were presumably adults - feared to tread. Privately, it was because her daughter hadn't asked permission before joining up, then gotten herself killed, married, impregnated and mixed up with gangs - in that order. Nevertheless, she had to admit that they were useful.

"The situation is growing more unbalanced," Kid Quantum reported, "So far the side of reason is holding out."

"If you can call it reason," Cosmic Boy sighed, "We're lucky it's just a war of words right now, but the way things are going, it won't take much to touch it off." He glanced at the other two silent Legionnaires. Invisible Kid was listening politely but Brainy seemed strangely morose.

Finally the door slid open and the Legion's patron saint, R.J. Brande, walked in. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he said. He sat down and nodded to Wazzo.

She cleared her throat, "I received information from Durla. It seems several agents of the White Triangle were observed taking instruction from a tall blonde Coluan woman."

"Oh _**no.**_" Brainiac 5 had covered his face with his hands. Lyle gave him a sympathetic look. Rokk and Jazmin looked at each other and nodded.

President Wazzo touched a few keys, activating the conference table holo display and the accompanying audio. Brainy stared intently at the image of the woman as she tossed her hair imperiously. Garth and Wazzo's technicians had done their best to clear the foreground noise and bring up the vocal track, but it was still difficult to make out. In some places, it wasn't possible to make it clear. Murphy's Law being what it was, some of these were in critical information. Garth had had much better luck with the visual, providing very clear facial images of the Daxamites and the Coluan woman. Everyone turned to look at Brainy.

"It's not her," Querl said in a mixture of relief and consternation, "That's not her. That's not Brainiac 4."

Wazzo frowned, "Are you certain? It's been a few years..."

"Hello, do you notice a resemblance?!" Brainy exploded. He leaned up next to the image and waved his hand back and forth comparingly, "No? Could be because she's not my mother!"

"Any idea who she is, then?" Rokk asked.

**"I** know who she is," Brande sighed, "She's Myrl Prin, a Councillor on Colu's governing body."

Wazzo flexed an eyebrow, "A renegade perhaps?"

"Perhaps. Colu's got enough splinter groups."

"Or perhaps not," Brainy said slowly, "I've uncovered information that indicates that Colu was the origin of the Metallo virus, in the 25th Century."

Rokk gasped, "The Metallo... you mean, the Robot Wars? **_Colu_** caused the _Robot Wars?!"_

"Is this relevant?" Wazzo's eyebrow flexed again.

"Colu seceded from the United Planets," Brande reminded her.

"It was thought that they did so to protest the inclusion of Robotica," Brainy nodded, "But it could have been to plan a strike."

"I thought there was a faction on Colu that wanted to replace everyone's organic bodies with robotic ones?" Wazzo said.

Querl nodded again, "There is. There is also a strong anti-AI faction. The conflicts between the two factions have been going on for centuries."

"It doesn't look like a planet at civil war."

"We're very quiet about it."

Brande grinned, "The running joke is that Coluans don't fight, they calculate aggressively."

"E MC squared! And so's your mom!" Lyle grinned as everybody else laughed -- everybody except Brainy, of course, who just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You have evidence for this, son?" Brande asked.

Querl did not reply in words, but instead placed a chip into the conference table's reader. The holo projector displayed the poorly-overwritten security clip of Sharn Nux taking her instructions from councillor Orn Fex, "...Artificial intelligence could well outstrip our own. The group mind has foreseen this certainty, which is why our forebears unleashed the Metallo Virus..."

"Yeah, I'd say that's evidence," said Jazmin dryly.

"...must not allow ourselves to be superseded by inorganics. Our ancestors knew this, and in their wisdom took steps to prevent it. Surely they would forgive us for pretending to consider them tyrants." The room was silent when the clip ended. Querl looked morose, the Legionnaires confused, and R.J. Brande had a look of sudden comprehension that he quickly covered.

President Wazzo tented her fingers and looked thoughtful, "The Robot Wars. The great conflict of the 25th century that all but eradicated artificial intelligence, seeded the distrust of inorganic life and led to the loss of thousands of valuable technologies, not to mention the loss of life."

"They caused it," Querl whispered.

Wazzo nodded, still thoughtful, "Social dissent to form a distraction... destruction of the Thresholds to prevent transaction..." She glanced up, "If Colu **is** backing the White Triangle, I believe you have found their motive."

They were interrupted by an urgent chirp from Kid Quantum's omnicom. Casting an apologetic glance at the President, she opened it, "I'm in conference here, Apparition..." At seeing Apparition's expression, she bit off the remainder of her retort.

"There's an emergency on Daxam. A suicide bomber. You'd better find Brainy."

Almost involuntarily, they turned to look at Brainiac 5. He'd paled nearly to yellow. _"...Laurel."_


	4. Icicles

Icicles

"What kind of group would send a mother to murder her own child? I'm Condo Arlik with today's top story: The Daxamite terrorist group, the White Triangle, attempted to assassinate Mother Andromeda, by sending the Valorite icon's own mother to do the job. Science Police have identified the would-be suicide bomber as Laura Gand, wife of White Triangle extremist Kent Marlowe Gand. Mother Andromeda, an abbess with the Valorite Church of the Eternal Cosmos, is a popular figure in secular circles as well, and widely considered to be an inspiration. Once a Legionnaire herself, she is the older sister of popular new Legionnaire Kent Shakespeare, whose signature 'Prime Punch' has been a factor in decisively ending many of the recent White Triangle conflicts."

"He really lays it on thick, doesn't he," Rond chuckled.

Lyle had his hand to his forehead and was laughing, "Grife, sometimes he sounds like one of those 20th Century newshounds Brainy was always bagging on." He reached out and turned down the volume on the newscast. As soon as word of the assassination attempt had hit the omnicoms, it was on every channel and the drama was still unfolding.

"What, exactly, happened?"

* * *

When Apparition broke the news, Kid Quantum had expected Brainiac 5 to head straight to Daxam, and was a little surprised when he burned for his lab instead. Invisible Kid, however, just waved her aside and stepped into the lab. "What are you after?" he asked calmly, mindful of the bits of machinery and equipment that were being heaved around carelessly.

"Red sun projectors," Querl barked, "We've got to retune them to yellow sunlight. Get M'Onel and Kent. And Cos, Imra and Triad and probably Violet. And XS." Lyle nodded and relayed the orders, then bent to retuning the projectors. As he worked, he watched his friend out of the corner of his eye. Brainiac 5 was deadly calm but Lyle wasn't deceived: If Laurel Gand suffered so much as a scratch, it would go very hard with the White Triangle. The House of Dox were well known for their far-reaching schemes for revenge and Brainy... well, Brainy simply hadn't felt the need yet.

Kid Quantum met them in the Threshold room, together with Gates, Umbra and several others along with the requested Legionnaires. Wordlessly, Umbra and Kid Q took the solar projectors. Brainy, who'd looked annoyed when he saw the extra personnel, then nodded. Jazmin shouldered her burden and looked around, "Transuits on, everybody. Triad, stay triplicated. Let's not freak out our hosts. We're going in uninvited, so try to behave accordingly. Shikari?"

Shikari managed to get them right to the scene. The Threshold opened over the smoking ruin and rubble of the church building. Sirens and people screamed, rescuers and media poured in. Querl scanned the wreckage, beginning his analysis.

Saturn Girl touched her forehead and closed her eyes, _"Andromeda?"_

_"GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!"_

"She's alive," Imra reported. Brainy almost sagged with relief. "She's buried but she's alright. Over there." Imra pointed.

"These sections are too unstable to be lifted laterally but there are several people trapped underneath," Querl reported, "Vi, if you get underneath and grow..." He didn't need to finish; she was already on her way. Cosmic Boy levitated the rebar-reinforced concrete slabs out of the way. The other Legionnaires dispersed to their own rescue efforts.

Cos shook his head, "We must be getting close. The rock's glowing."

Lyle grinned, "Of course! She has one of Brainy's forcefield belts! Almost there, Andi!"

A large section of wall had collapsed, bringing several floors down on top of it. Muscles straining, Andromeda was holding the whole mess off the group of frightened Daxamites clustered under the forcefield bubble. She looked up as sunlight fell across her face, "Querl?"

"He's right above you, Andi. He's holding this thing together so I can push it off your back. It's brittle and if it falls the wrong way, it'll crush some people outside your forcefield."

"Thanks, Violet," Laurel smiled and caught Violet's grin as she grew past. Then the burden lifted and the light poured in and she looked up to see the face she most needed to see, "Oh, Mother God... Querl!"

"Laurel!" He helped her to stand and anxiously checked her for injuries, "Are you alright?" She nodded and he kissed her fiercely and she hugged him tight.

"My mother tried to kill me," she whispered brokenly against his neck, "My own mother..."

Querl stared at her for a moment, then his gaze fell to the older woman lying injured nearby. Black rage filled him but he swallowed it down to focus on his wife. "Believe me, dear heart, I _know_ how you feel. But listen to me," he cupped Laurel's cheeks with both hands and looked into her streaming eyes, "Put it aside for later. Pull yourself together now. Your sisters need their Mother."

Laurel smiled through her tears and reached up to lace her fingers through his, "Why'd you have to put it like that?" She nodded and he kissed her again. "Let's go."

"Go tell the police what happened, my breath. I'll take care of things here." He watched her lift up through the dust, then turned his attention to the other woman. She was swimming in and out of consciousness and his initial scan indicated a severe concussion, among other injuries. "Hold still, you have internal injuries. I'm here to help, as it appears to be the best possible revenge I could take at this moment."

"..wh'r's my h'sb'nd?" she slurred.

A quick check with Imra revealed no such presence. "Not here, I'm sorry to say," Querl said, not sounding the slightest bit sorry, "I am Querl Dox, although I'm better known as Brainiac 5. And your name would be...?"

"...l'ra..."

"Laura Gand, correct. You are my mother-in-law. I'd say 'it's a pleasure to meet you', but given that you just attempted to murder my wife, it isn't. Hold still, please, I need to cauterise this wound..."

"Don't t'ch me...!"

Querl sat back on his heels and brushed his hair back, still wearing that deceptively pleasant smile, "Patient refused permission for first-aid, nothing I can do. Oh well, bleed to death, then. That's your choice, of course."

Laura's uneven pupils tried to focus on the green man leaning over her. She'd seen him tenderly stroke her daughter's face, gazing at her with anxiety and fierce pride. "Wh'r's my hus'bnd?" she asked again.

"Sorry, still not here. Seems he sent you off to die and didn't even come to sweep up the pieces," Querl said callously, "He seems to be very careless of the people he loves. Wife, children, all seem to be disposable. I can't understand why, of course -- Laurel has been the empowering yellow sun of my life since we first met, and Kent Shakespeare is as close as a brother. Oh well, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

"..v'lor f'rgive me... i c'ldn't do it... not my d'ght'r..."

"I know," Querl said more gently, "The nature of the blast radius tells me the explosive was hurled up high. You changed your mind, didn't you. Then you tried to run. Fortunately, you weren't entirely out of the range of Laurel's forcefield. Which, incidently, I gave to her because I anticipated something like this, although admittedly I didn't think they'd send her mother."

"...wh't're y' w'ting f'r..."

Querl smiled again, "I am waiting for you to lose consciousness, which I estimate to be in another fifteen seconds, whereupon you will fall under the implied-consent clauses. I will save your life, then turn you over to the Daxamite authorities, who will doubtless give you a slap on the wrist, whereupon you will begin your true punishment -- knowing that neither of your children will ever trust you to come near them again." He watched her eyes roll back, then worked fast.

"You don't pull your punches, do you, Brainy."

"She tried to murder my wife, XS," he replied without looking up, "Having a last-minute change of heart does not incline me to feel more charitable."

"What if she were threatened or blackmailed into..."

"I have allowed for that possibility," Querl grated, "Which I doubt you'd be doing if it were _your_ spouse. There. She's stable. You and Gates get her out of here." XS said nothing more but obeyed. When she was gone, Querl brushed the dust off his face and rose up to survey the scene. He realized he was shaking and forced himself calm. Times like this, he sorely missed his implants.

_"They're coming!"_ Saturn Girl's thoughts exploded into his mind, startling every Legionnaire in the vicinity, _"And they've got murder on their minds!"_

"Battle ready, everyone!" Cosmic Boy called, "We've got incoming!" Instinctively, the Legionnaires moved into ring formation, facing out to watch all directions.

Umbra grinned mirthlessly at her new partner, "First fight, Nox. Ready?"

"No," the young girl admitted.

Umbra grinned wider, "Neither was I." She looked up and saw the fighter crafts sweeping down out of Daxam's red sun, "Here they come!"

"Let's go, Legion!" Cosmic Boy called, leading the rise to intercept, "Don't fall into the trap of thinking they're any less dangerous because they're under a red sun!" He caught a diving fighter in his magnetic field and scrambled its relays.

With the yellow-sun projectors shut down, the Daxamite civilians were immediately de-powered. However, as M'Onel had found on previous visits, his body had enough exposure stored that he lost power much more gradually. Kent Shakespeare, in the same situation, was making the most of his steadily-decreasing strength by laying out every White Triangle soldier he could find. Laurel, wearing her light-band tech, was tearing open the fighter crafts so that he could find the White Triangle soldiers.

It was all going fairly well until someone sucker-punched Kid Quantum and nicked the projector she carried. Kent and M'Onel felt their strength fluctuating as the yellow-sun beams hit them then flicked away again, as the Triangle soldiers sought to empower their own. The soldiers grinned nastily, feeling the power flowing through them with nauseating force. "Hit them while they've got power-up sickness!" Andromeda roared, launching herself skyward, "They're not used to it! We've got a few seconds!"

Brainiac 5 shook his head with a disgusted expression. "They honestly think we didn't plan for this? Umbra, Nox..."

"Locked and loaded, Brainy," Umbra grinned. She cast her darkfield at the projector-weilding Daxamite, "Go earn your flight ring, Nox!"

"You bet!" the Kathoonian girl dove into the blackness. A moment later, the projector plummeted towards the ground, before Cosmic Boy caught it in his magnetic field.

"Could've caught that, cadet."

"I'm super-strong, not super-speed," she poked her face outside the darkfield and held out the unconscious Daxamite by the scruff of his neck, "Where do you want this?"

He grinned, "Correction noted. I'll take him for now."

Umbra expanded her darkfield, enveloping more Daxamites for Nox to take down. "Wahoo! Nox Prime Punch! Just call me Kent Shakespeare!"

She grinned and shook her head, "Great, kid! Don't get cocky."

_"Imra..."_

Saturn Girl looked around, _"Brainy? What's wrong, you sound.." _Then she looked down and screamed, "XS! Catch him!"

"Whuh? Ohmigod**Brainy!**" A nanosecond later, she was underneath him, breaking his fall, _"OhmigodSaturnGirlhe'sbleedingreallyheavily!"_

_"Don't touch it! Remember your first-aid! - never pull it out, just stabilise it for transport,"_ Imra cautioned her, then looked around for Shikari, _"Shikari, get us a Threshold back to Legion World, right to Medical if you can! Brainy's been stabbed."_

___**"WHAT?!**"_

Saturn Girl winced from the double-whammy of Laurel's distress and sonic boom. There was a migraine in her future, she was sure. "Andromeda, wait! We'll take care of Brainy, you know we will. You need to apprehend the felons and work with the authorities. You need to find who did this, Andi!"

"Sprock that!" Laurel bellowed, weeping, "He's always been there for me and I'm never there for him! I'm not letting him down this time!"

"Andi, be reasonable -- personal isn't the same as important, you know that!"

Andromeda spun in the air and snarled at her, "Is that what you told Garth?"

* * *

Garth Ranzz tilted his face to the sky. It was drizzling lightly, refreshing after the oppressive heat of the past week; he smiled, enjoying the sensation. Surprising to have this much sensation in a body made of crystal. He strolled slowly through the streets of the inner city, with no particular destination in mind. Jan used to change his body, he remembered. He'd change from one element to another, exploring various states physically as well as mentally. He changed to wood once, leading to some crude jokes at the time. Garth pondered that. Wood was a compound, but he'd found that he could easily affect compounds if he approached their component element atoms. On the other hand, he'd discovered that Wood was an 'element' in the ancient Chinese mysticism, leading him to wonder just how broadly 'Element Lad' had defined himself. Still, wood was a complex compound... but surely no more complex than flesh? After all, both were carbon-based, weren't they? And there was only one element's difference between chlorophyll and hemoglobin... Gazing at his hand, Garth concentrated.

Well. _It's a good thing it's drizzling today,_ he thought,_ If it were sunny, people'd be going blind. Heh, Ayla always said I was a diamond in the rough._ He concentrated again and returned himself to crystal. _Good thing I didn't turn myself to graphite. I'd be a write-off._ He knew that Jan_ could_ change himself back to flesh if he wanted to, but he'd seldom wanted to. He'd work it out somehow.

A squeal drew his attention and he looked up to see a group of young children playing in the rain. He smiled, recognising some of them. Brainy had proven to be surprisingly popular among the little ones; they regarded him as a sort of favorite uncle. Even more surprising was the amount of time Brainy spent hanging out with the children, entertaining them with stories, sleights of hand and harmless experiments. Some of them recognised Garth and waved to him. He waved back, then walked on.

He smelled baking and followed the aroma to one of the Valorite Orders. This Order worshipped Valor as divine, something Garth had found difficult to do after listening to him break wind in the Legion commissary. A monk, habit covered by a long apron, was setting a tray of turnovers onto a rack to cool. He looked up as Garth approached, "They're fresh out of the oven. Do you want one?"

"I could smell them down the street," Garth grinned, taking one, "What's the filling?"

"Barbecued plotz, ferrend, leek and potato, and lemand and dulse," the brother pointed to each type in turn, "Take several. They'll be gone soon." Sure enough, the delicious aromas were attracting more attention.

Garth bit into the hot pastry, not having to worry about burning his tongue. "Do you ever feel frustrated? I mean, you put all the effort into making this stuff and people come in off the street, take it and walk out again. They don't even stay to listen to the sermons."

The monk smiled, "I probably would, anywhere else, it's true. Probably because there is expectation of something. But I just feel happy that people like my cooking. It doesn't have time to get cold." The tray was getting emptier by the minute. "Most of them do say thank-you and many come back often."

Garth nodded, "Well, count me as one of them. This is really good."

The monk beamed. "Do you want anything else? Something to drink? It's cooling off out there."

"Yeah," Garth agreed, "A good day to stay at home but..." he looked thoughtful for a moment then shook his head, "Got itchy feet today, I guess. Just don't seem to want to stay in one place today."

The monk smiled and nodded. He poured hot tea into a flask and handed it to Garth, along with a couple of biscuits, "Take this when you leave, to keep you warm on your path."

Garth smiled, "Thanks, Brother. May Valor smile upon you."

"And upon your mother's son," the monk returned. Then a bell dinged and he hurried back into his kitchen. Garth picked up the flask, pocketted the biscuits and remaining turnovers, and walked back out into the rain. He sat down under an awning, opened the flask and thought about Imra.

He'd been avoiding thinking about Imra. He'd thought about Ayla and Mekt and his parents but Imra was a gaping wound in his heart. The woman he loved, the woman he was going to marry, she _knew_ he was himself, she'd read his mind... and now she wouldn't even touch him. It hurt more than he thought it could.

It wasn't his fault that he'd come back with Jan's face. He'd change it if he could, but he'd tried: He could change the composition of his body, but not the shape. He had Jan's face now, Jan's waif-like frame, and there was nothing he could do about it. People kept saying 'looks didn't matter, it's what's inside that counts,' but that all came to a screeching halt when it came to Garth Ranzz and his Progenitor features.

He wondered whether that was truly the problem: Was it that he resembled the Progenitor, who'd hunted Imra and the others across the Second Galaxy and killed himself and Monstress? Or was it just that he didn't look like himself? Did they think of him as some sort of body snatcher, a parasite who'd snatched Jan Arrah's body in place of his own? Like he'd **intended** any of this to happen! He was back, he'd survived at terrible cost, and the people he loved were turning away from him...

He didn't realise he was crying until he felt the gentle touch on his cheek. He opened his eyes but the face of the figure bending over him was hidden deep within the cowl of a Durlan robe. He smiled. He'd seen her around from time to time, usually sitting against a wall under an awning somewhere. Sometimes drawing in the dust, sometimes sitting still... once he saw her playing with a kitten, letting it kick its hind claws against her gloves. Sometimes she was crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes raging, sometimes surprisingly rational. She was just a homeless madwoman. There were a lot of them in inner Samnor -- people with mental illnesses that science had yet to cure, who had no one to care for them and couldn't care for themselves. Samnor fed, clothed and cared for them just as they fed, clothed and cared for the pilgrims.

The madwoman stroked the tears from his cheeks, letting them slide over her leather glove. She was giggling, then abruptly she pulled him against her shoulder. Garth was startled, then he relaxed and returned the embrace, letting the woman rock him while she crooned off-key and tunelessly. "Thanks," he said eventually, "I needed a hug." He moved to kiss her cheek but she jerked back, releasing him as abruptly as she'd embraced him. "I'm sorry," he apologised quickly, "I didn't intend offense." The woman shook her head sharply, then turned and ran off into the rain.

Garth sighed. He hadn't intended to run her off like that. Maybe he'd trodden some cultural taboo? He always forgot about that. Still, between the kindness of the monk and the madwoman's comfort, he felt better. He snorted wryly - it was easy to be kind to strangers. It was simple. Get to know them, get personal, and it got complicated. It was harder to do CPR on a man when you knew what he'd done to his children.

The rain thickened and grew colder. He finished the last of the tea, then headed off to find shelter in one of the Orders.

* * *

_A hand came down to place a coloured tile. **Click**._

_"How fares Mother Andromeda?"_

_"Ah, you've heard already. The church was destroyed and there were many injuries, but she herself is unharmed. The attack was anticipated."_

_"Of course."_

_"The assassins were apprehended. They'll be questioned."_

_**Click.** "They are ignorant. They will yield little of use."_

_"Brainiac 5 was injured in the fight. He's out of action for a little while. One of the assassins had a phase-knife. The wound just missed his heart."_

_**Click. Click.** "... Now that is unexpected. The assassins on Daxam just **happened** to have the one weapon that could cut through Brainiac 5's forcefield?"_

_"...By damn!"_


	5. Nor'Easter

Nor'Easter

Rokk chucked his uniform into the laundry chute and changed into a pair of sweatpants. Jazmin was still showering. He opened the bar fridge and poured two glasses of wine, then sat down to wait. At length, she emerged, towelling off her hair, clad in a tank top and a pair of panties. She took the wine he offered and sat down beside him, "Mmm, thanks, sweetie."

"You're welcome," Rokk smiled. He draped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. They sipped in silence for several minutes, unwinding. "How are you holding up?"

Jazz shrugged, "About the same. Could've done without Imra and Andromeda cat-fighting. As if we didn't have enough problems."

Rokk smiled, "Brainy's out of surgery and should be waking up soon; that'll calm Laurel down somewhat. Well, it'll divert her attention, anyways."

Jazz sighed and ran her fingers over her hair, "Grife. Who'd've thought they'd have a phase-knife."

"It's a little** too** coincidental, isn't it."

"Yeah... Actually, yeah, it is. But... how'd they know? That's not common knowledge, is it?"

"I don't think so," Rokk shook his head, "Can tell you what I do think, though."

"What's that?"

He grinned, "I think we'd better be prepared for Angry-Brainy when he wakes up."

"Oh yeah!" Jazz laughed. She leaned back against Rokk's chest and reached up to snake her fingers through his hair. "What's the deal with Imra?" she asked softly.

Rokk winced. "It's, uh... It's a long story."

Jazmin cocked her head up to look at him, "That doesn't sound good."

Rokk's expression said he'd really prefer not to talk about this. "She's got a... history of... 'using' people, I guess. Thing is, Garth's had it bad for her from the moment he first saw her, back when we were all on that flight together. We just have to hope that it works out."

"'Using people'? You mean, like what she did with Jo, back when we were lost in the Second Galaxy?"

"Yeah. Sort of. And that too."

Jazmin looked at him and saw that he **really** did not want to discuss this. Slowly she nodded. "You think she's been using Garth?"

"I don't know. Nobody's been in the kind of position she's in now. Someone you love gets resurrected in the body of his killer - that's not an everyday occurance. I don't think anyone can rightly judge her."

"Andromeda sure seemed to be," Jazz snorted.

"Andromeda's mother had just tried to kill her," Rokk reminded her gently, "And she'd just seen her husband nearly murdered. Imra knew better than to spout the platitudes she was spouting. There was plenty of time for Andromeda to talk to the authorities after Brainy was safe."

"Right," Jazz sighed, chagrinned, "And Garth's probably been talking to her a lot."

"Yes."

She turned and nuzzled against Rokk's chest, "Sorry."

"S'okay. This isn't easy on any of us."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm glad you're here to help. Doesn't seem fair to you, though. Even when you're not the leader, you're still the leader."

He shrugged and kissed her, "A burden shared is a burden eased. That's why leaders have deputies."

"Ohhhhhh...? Is that what you call this, then?"

"Ahh...!! Well, uhm..."

"I see what you're called 'Rock'..."

"You wicked, wicked woman..."

* * *

Garth startled awake. For a moment, he didn't know what had woken him, then another peal of thunder rolled and he relaxed. The drizzle of the previous day had thickened into storms overnight. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the dorm room, dazzling his eyes, and left him blinking at green spots when the darkness returned. He got up to get something to drink. He stood at the window and looked out at the storm, watching the porch lights that marked the various Order houses winking fitfully.

_Wait.. That wasn't lightning. _Garth frowned, trying to see through the darkness and the rain. Something was moving in the black sky. Another flash and he realized what he was looking at. Then a flash of lightning confirmed and he reefed the window open. _I thought so! - That's Daxamite laser vision! What the hell? _He felt to make sure he had his flight ring on then leaped out, _The Threshold!_

He flew out into the storm. Despite the urgency of the situation, he allowed himself a moment's pleasure -- the air was thick with electricity and he was, aheh, in his element. _Hang on, that wasn't near the Threshold, it looked closer._ He frowned, puzzled, _They're over the inner city! **Grife!!**_

The roof of one of the Order houses exploded in flames. It had been timed with a lightning strike but Garth had seen the red eyes of the Daxamites and the flash of their laser vision beams through the rain sheet. Screams and thunder filled the air and people began to spill from the other Orders to help.

Garth noticed the Daxamites moving purposefully and rose to follow them. They were still using their laser vision but their target didn't seem to be an Order house this time. He looked down.

Someone was running, weaving through the alleys between Orders, dodging the bursts of laser vision. A burst hit close and the person dove, landing in a breakfall and rolling before regaining their feet without losing momentum. At first, Garth thought the Daxamites were just stirring up the terror by indulging in their xenocidal pursuits. Then the Daxamites landed, surrounding their prey, and he realized this was much more focussed than that.

They attacked en masse. Their prey dodged them with frightening speed and almost unnerving calm, leading Garth to wonder if that were one of the Roboticans in a Durlan robe. Whoever they were, they were using the Daxamites against each other in an aikido-like fashion. But it was clear they were in trouble. Without quite thinking about it, Garth jumped into the melee.

Abruptly he had the attention of several fully-powered Daxamites and no force field._ Brilliant move, Garth. How are you going to take down a gang of Daxamites? They won't give you a second chance,_ he thought. "Down," he whispered to the runner, "Crouch low to the ground without touching."

His lightning crackled snakelike around him and he transmuted his body,_ Garth ol' buddy, time to go for the gold!_

* * *

Cosmic Boy sat down at the desk, feeling rather ill. He hated this sort of thing. It left him wondering for weeks whether it qualified as torture or whether it was still on the near side of morality.

He cast a worried glance at Brainiac 5. The young man was still a pale, sickly yellow-green and there were dark circles under his eyes. His face was utterly expressionless but his eyes burned. His hands held a number of thin plastic tubes which he tapped absently against his upper arm. Kent Shakespeare and M'Onel stood nearby, each holding one of the plastic tubes and occasionally sipping from the contents.

Two adult Daxamites watched them like hawks, keenly aware of their lack of transuits.

Invisible Kid had explained it to Rokk: Keep the threat in view, never ever refer to it, let their imaginations do the work. He still didn't like it. "Kent Marlowe Gand and Laura Gand," he began, "I'm Cosmic Boy, deputy leader of the Legion. We have a few questions and while I'm aware you don't have many answers, I hope you'll be good enough to cooperate with what you know."

"Get sprocked, gene-trash!"

"I'll introduce our companions," Rokk continued smoothly, "This is M'Onel, another Daxamite. Of course you know Kent Shakespeare... his brother-in-law, Brainiac 5... who cured your daughter's lead poisoning once, I don't know if you knew that or not... and this is Invisible Kid, who currently isn't living up to his codename."

Lyle gave them a cheery smile and wave, "By the way, we're aware you might be feeling a bit poorly. Brainiac 5 brought something that'll help." He watched their eyes flick again to the plastic tubes. "Very kind of him, I thought, considering your actions."

"Which, of course, is what we'd like to discuss," Rokk nodded.

"Not telling you brats anything," Kent Marlowe had the grace to look embarrassed when his son flicked him a Look.

Rokk turned to address Laura Gand, "Please accept our condolences on the loss of your daughter Lauren..."

"Don't you sully Lauren's name with your filth, alien!" Kent Marlowe interrupted, "Lauren was a good and obedient girl, a fine Daxamite! She loved her people! She never betrayed her race!"

"And Laurel did?"

Kent Marlowe's mouth twisted with disgust and disappointment, "Laurel was always headstrong. I never imagined she'd turn traitor, much less deviant." He shot a hostile glare at Brainiac 5.

"Oh, that's right, Brainiac 5 is your son-in-law now..."

"The sprock he is!" Kent Marlowe seethed, indignant, "Laurel cast herself from our family the moment she married that mongrel! I won't have it said any daughter of mine would crossbreed with a freak whose bloodline is too polluted even for his own people! Even the greenies understand the importance of keeping the races separate!"

"Kent, please," Laura whispered, casting anxious glances at the tubes in Brainiac 5's hand. She was shaking slightly and feeling a bit feverish. Brainy's eyes narrowed and his chin dipped slightly.

"Can I have another pixy-stick?"

The Gands stared in horror as Brainiac 5 calmly handed one of the tubes up to Kent Shakespeare, who popped the top off and tipped the contents into his mouth. _"Pixy-sticks?!" _ "But you said those were...!"

Cosmic Boy pretended to be puzzled, "I'm sorry?"

"You said they were medicine! You said they'd relieve our symptoms!"

"Oh, certainly," Rokk smiled, "You're clearly exhausted and the sugar will give you a slight energy boost."

Laura turned pale and started to hyperventilate, "Then... all this time... no transuits...!"

"I'm sorry? Oh, I see, you're concerned about lead. No, you're quite safe, this area is completely free of contaminants of any kind," Rokk smiled.

Kent Marlowe was incensed, "You let us believe we'd been poisoned!"

"No," Rokk said firmly, "You let yourselves believe that, on very flimsy evidence. Perhaps you should be a little more questioning before believing everything you're told. You could make some very costly mistakes."

"You lied to us!"

"Not once. And no one's even touched you." Cosmic Boy snapped his omnipage shut and stood up, "I must thank you for your cooperation. You've been very informative. You'll be escorted back to the Daxamite authorities." He waited until the Daxamite couple had left, then heaved a heavy sigh, "I hate doing that. I still think it comes too close to torture."

Lyle stretched, "Guy's got stones the size of coconuts to mouth off like that in front of Brainy, when he's holding the cure. Sorry, the candy." He looked at his friend, "So you were right on both counts: Colugov **is** backing the Triangle and they **are** out to get both you **and** Mother Andromeda."

"But why?" Cosmic Boy asked, this time genuinely puzzled, "They've already banished him from coming near the planet again. Why try to kill him? Brainy?" He stared as Brainiac 5 stood up and stalked out without a word, then shook his head, "This makes no sense at all."

Lyle stared after his friend, "Didn't you see his eyes? It's making sense to him."

* * *

Brainiac 5 stalked down the halls towards the Omnilab. By the time he reached it, he was practically flying. When he reached the lab's dedicated Threshold, he **was** flying, startling several nuns when he emerged in the Eternal Cosmos Order house in Samnor. "Andromeda. Where is she?"

"She's... gone to the tower," one of the sisters answered hesitantly. He thanked her with a gruff nod and stormed out into the street. The tower was a central fixture of the inner city - it was impossible not to find it.

"Brainy? Hey Brainy! Hey, wait up!"

Querl paused only a moment, "Garth. Hello."

"Grife! What happened to you?!"

"Some Daxamites tried to kill me, using my wife as bait."

**"What?!"**

"Of course, they tried to kill her, as well."

"Grife! Well that's it then, they've pulled off the gloves. I caught a bunch of them trying to kill an old homeless lady last night."

Brainy stopped so abruptly that Garth overshot him, "What homeless lady?"

Garth looked puzzled, "Just one of the old madwomen. You know the tall one with the severe emotional problems? I'm sure you've seen her, I've seen her around Eternal Cosmos a few times. She might be a Durlan, I don't know. She wears Durlan robes. Mother Andromeda would know, she talks to her quite a lot."

Brainy cursed under his breath. "Apparently so," he said, "Where is she?"

"Who, the madwoman? Last I saw her, she was in the tower. Brainy, what's up?" Brainy had started moving again, so fast that Garth was having to skip to keep up to him, "What's the deal with her? Why would the Daxamites be after an old madwoman?"

"She's not that old, she's only one hundred and ten!" Querl sped up, leaving Garth to stand puzzled in his wake.

The air inside the tower was cool and still. Querl stopped and looked around, wondering where to go from here. _Where_ in the tower? Then he noticed one of the Durlans looking at him, face completely hidden by her cowl. He turned to face her, eyes boring into the blackness beneath the hood. Garth was right: He'd seen her. _Sprock, she once sat beside me for four hours! She even brought me tea! Laurel, when were you planning to tell me?_

He took a deep breath, "Good morning, Mother."

"Good morning, Son."


	6. In the Eye of the Storm

Brainiac 5 stood before the figure in Durlan robes. He felt like trembling but forced himself to remain calm. But he couldn't hide the flame in his eyes.

Brainiac 4. His mother. Leader of the Dark Circle, who'd once brought the galaxy to the brink of war, using the White Triangle. Who'd tried to kill him. "I just knew you were involved," he said bitterly, "I see rumours of your death were exaggerated. I was informed you had perished in the fire at the institute."

"The ruse was necessary to throw off those who set the fire."

Querl cocked an eyebrow, "It was an assassination attempt? Seven people died in that fire!"

"Eight had not R.J. Brande learned of my condition." She turned and strode down a hall, "Come. We have much to discuss."

"I'll say we do," Querl muttered. He followed her into a darkened room. In the dim light, he could just make out a set of tiles, scattered seemingly haphazardly over the floor. "I see... A visual representation of the political situation."

"Correct." Brainiac 4 knelt down and placed a tile, between one cluster and one of its neighbors, "I have just placed our meeting."

Querl nodded. He could work out the clusters that represented himself and Andromeda, and grit his teeth when he saw how much interaction there was between Andromeda's cluster and that representing Brainiac 4. "I find it difficult to believe that you're playing for the white hats this time... _Pandora."_

"Pandora is the group, not an individual."

"You're the mastermind behind it."

"Of course."

"And is your agenda still the same, Mother? Still starting wars for kicks?" He couldn't help the venom in his voice.

Brainiac 4's reply was as toneless as ever, "You misunderstand. I have been asked to stop this war as payment for services received. This is a service that has been asked of me by my benefactors."

Querl frowned, "Your benefactors?"

"Sister Andromeda. R.J. Brande. Leejah."

_"Sister_ Andromeda?" Querl yelped. _That means she's known Laurel for quite some time. Sprock you, Laurel, were you ever planning on telling me this?!_

"Their efforts have been successful in causing me to feel. The Durlan technologies can induce emotion in me for a short time. The duration is brief but consistant and such emotion as induced is increasingly appropriate to the stimulus situation. I was dismayed to see that you are injured," she said proudly.

Querl stared at her for several long minutes. "Hmph. That's a surprise. The last time we met, you tried to kill me."

"Yes. I have come to agree that my decisions regarding you have been too hasty. It was pointed out to me that I did weep when I saw you again. At the time, I took that to mean that I should proceed with my plan, given it was already proving successful. I have come to agree that I should have examined that success more closely before proceeding."

"So you're not going to try it again," Querl said sarcastically.

"No. That would be counter-productive, as the hypothesis is proving to be correct. Additionally, it would be giving our enemies what they seek."

Querl lifted a sceptical eyebrow, _"Our_ enemies?"

Brainiac 4 sat back on her heels and pushed her hood back. Querl shivered when he saw her face. "The White Triangle. They discovered that it was I who had been the Dark Leader and learned of my location."

Querl was shaking his head, "Where'd they get _that_ information? Colugov covered that up pretty thoroughly." He tilted his head, thoughtful, "About as thoroughly as they covered their involvement with the Metallo Virus."

"The Metallo Virus?" Brainiac 4 blinked.

"Yes. I uncovered damning evidence that the Council developed the Metallo Virus and were thus responsible for the 25th Century Robot Wars. It's amazing, the things I discover while searching for your notes."

"My notes? I did not leave my notes on Colu. Why would you search for my notes?"

"Mainly because of the things I discover while looking for them," Querl smirked, "It was more of an excuse to go snooping, really."

Brainiac 4 tilted her head thoughtfully, "If Colu were responsible for the Robot Wars, they did not take kindly to the admission of Robotica to the United Planets."

"No, they did not. And they've tried to kill me once before, over that."

Brainiac 4 frowned, "Why?"

"I built COMPUTO, who built the Roboticans," Querl brushed his hair back and shrugged, "If you want to get really technical about it, I suppose I'm the father of Robotica."

Brainiac 4 stared at him for a moment, then her face exploded into an excited grin, _"Now _we're getting somewhere!" Just as abruptly, the grin vanished, but the excitement lingered in her eyes for a few seconds more. She threw tiles rapidly over the floor.

"This is the second time," Querl told her as she threw, "The first time, they sent my betrothed mate, Sharn Nux." A tile flicked out to land between several clusters. "That's how they learned about phase-knives and my forcefields. I'd thought it was strange, she'd tried to kill me _after_ I'd neutralized COMPUTO as a threat." More tiles clattered across the floor. "We knew there'd be attempts on Laurel's life," Querl's eyes were fixed on his mother's rapid movements, "They sent Laurel's mother with a bomb but she couldn't do it. Her mother was injured in the explosion and kept asking the whereabouts of her husband. I thought she was just asking about him for comfort, like any spouse; I didn't realize he had also been dispatched as an assassin. He was given a phase-knife. The attack on Laurel was bait to draw me out. That's when I became certain that Colu's government was backing the Triangle."

"And I was attacked last night by Daxamite assassins who had taken instruction from a Coluan councillor," Brainiac 4 tossed out another couple of tiles.

"I had confirmation this morning when we questioned Laurel's parents. Colu's instigating the whole thing, but why?" Querl stared at the patterns emerging in the chaos. Then, like two profiles becoming a vase, he saw the center, "...It's us. It's all about us."

Brainiac 4 surveyed the patterns, "Yes. They're trying to kill us!" She beamed with delight then turned to her son and hugged him.

* * *

Garth lay on his back on the rooftop garden, soaking up the sun. He felt particularly happy, though he couldn't explain why. He_ should_ be worrying about those Daxamites, or the madwoman they'd attacked, or about Brainy's bizarre reaction -- but he wasn't. He raised a hand and transmuted himself a couple of times, flashing between elements, then returned himself to crystal. Silicon dioxide was a simple compound and he returned to it easily enough; achieving more complex compounds was just another step._ What about... doubling the oxygen and changing the silicon into aluminum...?_ He concentrated. When he opened his eyes, he smiled: It worked -- he was sapphire.

He spent the next part of the afternoon switching his colours around. _This gives a whole new meaning to 'playing with yourself,'_ he thought,_ And Jan used to do it in public. Right there in the Legion commissary. Shameless. At least I have the decency to hang out on a semi-private rooftop._ Garth grinned at his own silliness and changed himself to red, ruby. He remembered how Jan's transformations had unnerved people but what had unnerved them more was how tripped out he'd seemed while doing it. _But it **is** trippy!_ Garth thought.

Sapphire was as easy as crystal, even with inclusions that gave it colour. Topaz, now that was a more complex molecule. Cellulose was simple, but wood was more than cellulose alone. And flesh...

Ah, well. One step at a time. He called the chemical formula of topaz to mind, then concentrated.

* * *

Brainiac 4 lay back into the sarcophagus-shaped table. Electrodes snaked through her hair, attaching themselves to various spots around her head. Technicians worked around her, adjusting the electrode placements, checking settings, displaying schematics.

"She was emoting consistantly and appropriately for nearly twenty minutes," Mother Andromeda said softly, "That's a record for her. _And_ she was in the down cycle."

The technicians started the current to the electrodes. Brainiac 4 stiffened and arched, her face contorting. "It hurts her."

"Yes. The procedure is primitive but so far, it's the only thing we've found that has any effect. She doesn't care; she has what she wants."

Querl's face was a carefully-composed mask but a glimmer of hurt coloured his eyes when he turned to face his wife. "How long?" he asked in a low voice.

"A while now," she admitted with a guilty, apologetic glance. "When they took her to the institution, they didn't even try to help her. They just shut her down. All of those reports, they were fake. They just put her into a coma, for years."

"How did you learn that?"

"Mr. Brande tried to visit her a few times. He got a run-around and it made him suspicious so he started looking deeper. He finally asked me to go have a look," she tapped her eye, indicating her x-ray vision, "He asked for my help in rescuing her and I took her to Durla with me. Leejah brought her to the techs here in Samnor and she's been hidden here ever since."

"And were you ever planning to tell me?"

Laurel winced at the bitter note creeping into Querl's voice. "When we were certain she would no longer be a threat to you, then I'd planned to sound you out about it. Querl," she took his hands and met his eyes, "Any contact is up to you, not to her or to us. What she did to you was unforgivable and we will _not_ think less of you if you choose not to have anything to do with her. We didn't want you to feel any pressure to forgive her or feel sorry for her in any way, after what she did to you."

"She's dangerous. She could harm you. I'm surprised the city is still standing."

Laurel shook her head firmly, "No, she's contained. As long as she gets what she wants, she's not a threat, she has no reason to be. As for me, I'm a consistant trigger."

"Meaning?"

"It seems... the emotion centers of her brain have been..." she searched for a word, "Atrophied. Degraded. It was done to her when she was very young. The Durlans' treatments stimulate the atrophied tissue, then outside stimuli can trigger a response. It's primitive and it leaves her in feast/famine cycles. Right after treatment, she's overwhelmed and experiences extreme emotional lability for a few hours, then gradually winds down until she gets a flash of emotion and then nothing. Then she returns to normal, well... normal for her. Unable to feel anything. She was in the 'famine' state when you arrived, so her feeling anything at all was enough of a surprise, let alone for twenty minutes."

"She did seem glad to see me... but she was glad to see me the last time, too."

Laurel shook her head, "If she's glad to see you, it's because you trigger emotions in her, not because you're her son. I'm sympathetic towards her and sometimes I even like her, but I'll be the first to admit, you'd have to go a long way across the galaxy to find someone more 'it's all about me' than Brainiac 4. You're a consistant trigger, that's all. All I have to do is mention you and she gets _something._" Laurel smirked slightly, "We've been telling her for a while that she just needed to give you a chance. I think she'll believe that now. But whether she gets that chance is up to you, and I won't love you any less if you decide not to."

"And if I do?" Querl's face was still dishearteningly blank.

"She's... She always feels _something_ whenever your name comes up... but it's not always good. Sometimes it's envy or jealousy.. and sometimes it's hate. There are a lot of good feelings too - she's often curious about what projects you're working on or about your social life, since she never had one."

Querl watched his mother's twisting form, silent for several minutes. "Who did this to her?"

"The Coluans. It seems she was an experiment in enhancing intellect by removing emotion. She was kept pretty isolated but still had some contact with other people; they figured that's where they screwed up. She had too much contact with normal people and worked out what was missing from her, then became obsessed with it. So with their next trial, they removed all living caregivers and kept interaction with normal people to an absolute minimum."

Querl shivered as he realized that the 'next trial' had been him. "But they didn't destroy parts of my brain."

"No. Apparently they'd decided that was a bit too imprecise. With you, they tried another method. Remember how you felt, every time you accessed the SleepNet, when you were small? They were trying to program you."

Querl shuddered. "How did you learn all of this?"

"They got found out. You weren't kicked off of Colu for conducting experiments; Mr. Brande found out what they were doing to you. He agreed to keep quiet about it in exchange for custody of you."

Querl's blank expression dissolved into a puzzled one, "But why?"

"He'd been looking for descendants of Vril Dox II. Why, or why then, I don't know. He'd been looking for Brainiac 4 for years but never found her. He found you, though. Once he got custody of you, he started trying to undo the damage. When the U.P. drafted you into the Legion, he thought it was too soon, but they were insistant."

"You let me believe she was dead..."

Laurel looked at him beseechingly, "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you but it wasn't a strategically good time. The Coluans must have thought Brainiac 4 was still in the institute. When it was destroyed, we knew we had to let it be believed that she had died in the fire. We knew then that something big was going down, it wasn't just the White Triangle rattling their sabres again."

Her eyes were so full of apology and he knew that she was right. He pushed his hands through his hair then embraced her. "I'm not angry at you, Laurel," he told her softly, "You're the only one who truly understands what I feel when I look at her." Laurel winced and nodded, then buried her face in his hair and tried to hold back the tears.

* * *

Garth had paid toll to enter the main city, eager to find a library. He wasn't sure what had made him think of it, but if it could be done... And of course, first he had to find out how it worked, so he could adapt the principle... He wasn't sure where all these ideas were coming from but he hadn't felt this excited about his powers since he'd first acquired them. Now he had Jan's powers and Jan's crystal body, shot through with the fine wisps that everyone thought was rutile or some other form of haze.

If this worked, it would bode well for transforming himself into wood... and eventually, flesh. Another step on his way to becoming a man again. Not to mention, if it worked, it would totally kick nass.

He'd taken down those Daxamites with high voltage but they'd be back, or others like them. Now they knew that he was here and they'd be ready for him. He had to stay ahead of the game.

* * *

Leejah spread the massed tentacles that were her hands and shook her head, "Why move the United Planets to war just to kill two people? It makes no sense."

"It does," R. J. Brande countered, "You've heard the phrase 'to kill two birds with one stone'? Colu's trying to kill a lot of birds."

Querl glanced at him; frankly, out of all of the people who made up Pandora, he was the only surprise. "If they pull this off, they eliminate their security leaks, eliminate Robotica, and re-establish their monopoly on science."

"By damn! I never thought of that!"

"Catch up the Durlan, please?"

"CoLu hAs TrAdiTiOnaLly bEeN kNoWn aS the haven of advanced science," said Brainiac 4. She was coming down into the mid-cycle of her treatment's effects, and prone to erratic bursts of emotional lability followed by her 'normal' emotionless state. Querl found it both disturbing and intriguing. "However, much of that success has been on the shoulders of the Brainiacs."

"You do all the work and they take all the credit," Leejah nodded.

"And when they banished Brainiac 5, they kicked off much of their success as well," Brande added, "All the miracles that would normally have stayed on Colu are now associated with the Legion, and Earth."

Leejah sighed, "I guess what's really puzzling me is, they've had a lot of time to eliminate you. Why would they banish you and keep Brainiac 4 on ice if they planned to kill you? And if they didn't plan to kill you, why the sudden need?"

"Or as we like to put it, 'What's Brainiac 5 done **now?'"** Brande teased. Querl grinned boyishly as everyone laughed.

"WhAt hE Has DoNe nOw is get married." Querl froze with his teacup halfway to his mouth and stared at his mother. "Without the coNsEnT oF tHe Council, to a woMaN wHo Is NoT of COlu. tO A dAXamIte!"

Querl stared at Brainiac 4 as she broke into high-pitched hysterical laughter. He turned to Brande, "When we questioned him, Laurel's father called me a 'freak who's bloodline is too polluted for his own people.'"

"AnY cHIld yOu hAd woULd iNheRiT thE DoX twELfTH-lEveL inTelLigEnCe aND tHe pOwER of a DaXAMite!" Brainiac 4 was almost hiccuping with laughter now, _"AnD iT wOUldn'T bE ThEiRs tO cOnTrOL!"_

"A super-Brainiac. By damn!" Brande sighed and fixed Querl with a look of mock-accusation, "Did you think this one through, son? You know you have a habit of not thinking things through, sometimes."

Querl scratched his head and looked sheepish, "Eh... I have to admit, I had not considered these _particular_ ramifications. Mostly we were looking at it as another lifelong experiment, namely the development of a Dox child if he's raised in a stable family environment with proper social exposure and parents who love him. And a proxy grandfather, of course, Mr. Brande."

Brande's jaw dropped, "By damn, Querl! Are you saying...?"

"Laurel **is** pregnant. We've kept it quiet because Daxamites are very prone to miscarriage as it is. The chances are much higher with a natural hybrid child."

Brande sat back with a comprehending sigh, "If the Coluans learned about that somehow..."

"Stop him before he breeds again," Leejah nodded, grinning, then grew serious again, "Alright, but they had Brainiac 4 in cold storage, so to speak. If they planned to eliminate you, it makes sense to keep a spare Brainiac around, so why would they try to eliminate her as well?"

Querl shook his head, "That's one of the questions we're still seeking answers to. Even with Mother's history, she is still Brainiac. Colu has had the Brainiacs for a thousand years; they weren't going to get rid of us entirely, even after Brainiac 3's excesses. They let Mother go because they had me to replace her."

"Could it be a case of mistaken identity?" Leejah asked, "They're mistaking her for you?"

"I Do nOT bElIeVe sO. tHe fIRst AtTemPt was against myself, long before any attempt was made against my son. Possibly that is a rEsUlT oF cIrcUmsTanCeS; aLtHough more readily locatable, he is far more difficult to access and is much better protected."

Querl nodded, "Hence having to draw me out using my wife as bait." He turned to Brainiac 4 and said gently, "Mother, you make a valid point about your vulnerability. Perhaps it would be wise for you to relocate to Legion World, until we get this sorted out. I'm certain we can duplicate your treatments and possibly improve them."

Her apprehensive eyes flicked towards Brande, who nodded, "It's a good idea. I don't like putting all our Brainiacs in one basket but now that the Daxamites know you're here, Samnor won't be enough to protect you."

"ThE yOuNg mAn LaSt nIGht..."

Brande shook his head, "That's not why he's here." He took both her hands in his and said very softly, "My dear girl, I understand you're afraid to face him, but we can't compromise the safety of either of you."

She looked away and nodded, "vErY wELl."

They stood up and Leejah threaded her tentacles through Brainiac 4's fingers, "We'll keep contact and Mother Andromeda will continue her work with you." She turned to Querl, "I will ask our technicians to download their specifications to you."

He nodded gravely, "Thank you." He waited while Brainiac 4 gathered her few belongings, taking the time for a few quiet words with Mr. Brande while he waited. Then his Legion communicator chirped.

It was Garth. "Right on target, Brainy! They're attacking the Threshold."


	7. Category One

Category One

"Monitor duty. We **finally** get promoted into the Legion and what's our first assignment? - Monitor duty!" Staq Mavlin pulled a petulant pout then grinned at his partner.

"Yeah! It's great, isn't it!" Brek Bannin enthused then grew slightly more serious, "Everybody has their turn at it, even the head honchos. Sure, they're taking advantage of the newbies, but look at it this way, we're getting it over with early and with the political situation, we might not even be bored."

"And if we do get bored..." Staq leered.

Brek rolled his eyes and grinned, "Don't make me cool you off, Staq. There's plenty of time for that after we book off."

Staq pouted, "Going frigid on me, polar boy? I could thaw you out with my hot stuff!"

Brek had the misfortune of sipping his coffee at that moment. "Staq!!" he managed between coughs. "Here, do me a favour and warm up my coffee while I find a towel. Should be you cleaning up this mess, not me. And don't melt the mug this time."

Staq grinned and watched his partner leave, then turned back to the monitor board. He still felt giddy every time he saw his little flame symbol, recently added to the duty roster. And there was Brek's little snowflake, Nox's owl, Virus's biohazard symbol and Kent Shakespeare's star-punch, all up there and shining alongside the big guns. And there was the comm light, flashing an incoming call. "Legion, You Flag 'Em We Bag 'Em, Fire speaking." He listened. "Could you hold for just a moment, sir? Got another incoming call and I'll just bet it's the same problem. Thank you. Legion... Yessir, can you hold a moment, sir? Thank you.. Legion World... Yes, ma'am, thank you, can you hold a moment?" He stared at the flashing board, lighting up with more and more calls. "Ice, you better get back in here! We've got trouble!"

* * *

"Stoopid Daxamites."

"I just got to sleep!"

"I was this close to... uh, nevermind..."

"whzbgzn?"

Kid Quantum clapped her hands and said with an alertness she definitely did not feel, "Alright everybody, grab your taurine shots and let's get moving. The White Triangle have started attacking the Thresholds and YES I KNOW THEY HAVE LOUSY TIMING. Shut up and drink your taurine, Ultra Boy. You'll be dividing into teams," she touched a button and the monitor screen lit up, showing the symbols and destinations of the teams, "Each team is balanced for strength, no arguing. Several teams also have one of our new members; help them become experienced members and remember what you were like when you were the newbie. Our objectives are to protect the Thresholds and protect the Kwai. If you can apprehend the Triangle Daxamites, great, if not, don't worry about it, that's not our mission. Any questions before we go? Umbra?"

"Where's Chameleon been lately?"

"Special assignment." Jazz grinned at Ayla's grousing. "XS?"

"According to this, Brainy's on our team, but he's not here."

Jazmin frowned and looked around the room -- sure enough, there was a distinct lack of green and blond sarcasm. She blinked, as disturbed by Brainy's absence as by her failure to notice. "Rokk?"

Cosmic Boy shook his head, "I don't know. Last I saw him was when he lit out of here this morning, after we questioned Mother Andromeda's parents. Lyle?"

"I haven't seen him either," Invisible Kid mused, "Andromeda came back this evening, though."

"Ah, well," Rokk scratched his head with an odd grin, "It's possible he's just pre-occupied."

* * *

Brainiac 5 grit his teeth, sweat shining on his skin, muscles tense with the strain of effort. Projecting his forcefield at this distance **and** rapidly varying its frequencies wasn't nearly as simple as it sounded. "Take your time, officers," he panted, glaring at the Science Police nearby, "I'm only covering the Threshold, the civilians and holding off the Daxamites. I've got all day."

"Sorry, Legionnaire, but evacuating civilians is only slightly less difficult than herding cats," the officer snarked back. "The next batch is going through now," she reported, watching the Threshold. Its Kwai navigator stood beside it, watching the battle.

Above them, Live Wire was assisting the Science Police units. "Live Wire, can you take out the one with the phase knife? I can't hold this much longer."

"Sorry, Brainy, they're wearing insulated transuits. Even gold, I'm not having much of an effect. I've got an idea but..."

_**"Sprock!!"**_ Querl felt his forcefield shudder and partially collapse -- the Daxamite had found the right frequency. Before he could react he saw several pairs of reddened eyes converge, then their target dropped to the ground._** "GARTH!"**_

Garth stood up slowly. "'Mr. Shine, him diamond!'" he grinned.

The sonic boom startled him but the Kwai was already transforming. Instead of the fragile insect-like Kwai he expected, the Daxamite found himself flying into the jaws of a very large xeratotops. He was caught and shaken a few times, then tossed over to another group of Durlans. "Yech! Blargh! Anybody got any mouthwash?"

"Sorry, Cham, didn't think to bring any."

Garth gaped, **"Cham?!"**

"That's me, your friendly neighborhood decoy!"

"How long have you been here?!"

"Couple of weeks now. Cover's blown now though," Chameleon shrugged and swatted another Daxamite out of the air with his tail.

"Anytime you want to help, Garth," Brainy grated, struggling to keep his forcefield going.

"Yes, yes, I said I had an idea. Just gimme a second, I've never tried this before. I'm not even sure it can be done, much less whether it'll actually work."

"Story of my life," Querl nodded. He glanced at Garth and frowned, "You've turned your bones to silver?"

"Platinum," Garth corrected. He was seething with electricity. "And filled my veins with carbon dioxide. Here goes!" He fired.

The target Daxamite screamed and dropped the phase knife. Querl snagged it with his forcefield and brought it back. "You've transformed yourself into a CO2 laser? Impressive!"

"Thanks!!" Garth panted, elated, "Now get out of here! Hop the Orderhouse Threshold and get back to Legion World! We'll hold them off here!" The remaining Daxamites looked at each other and flew off at speed. Brainy's hand fluttered to his forehead. Chameleon beat his head against the Threshold gate and the madwoman behind Brainy started to giggle. "...what?"

"Thanks, I was kind of hoping they wouldn't find out about that," Querl sighed.

"What?! But how? They were too far away to have heard me!" Now Cham was giggling as well, which was very distressing coming out of a xeratotops.

"All these years you've served alongside Andromeda, M'Onel and Kent Shakespeare and yet the concept of 'super-hearing' is still too much for your little monkey mind to handle."

"Now now, Brainy," Chameleon grinned, which was also very distressing on a xeratotops, given the quantity of teeth, "You had Koko as a pet for years; you know that's a disservice to monkeys."

"Any more of our secrets you'd like to give away, Garth? Your purpose in being here, perhaps? I'm sure they'd appreciate knowing that you're in hiding in case we need you to create a stargate. Or possibly the plan to sacrifice the Durla Threshold if it became necessary? How about my wife's pregnancy?"

Garth blinked, "Laurel's pregnant? You never said!" Cham nearly exploded with laughter.

"Well, **no**, Garth, you see that's sort of the point of secrets."

"Well then how come you're standing around here blathering about it?!" Garth was feeling very stupid and if he'd been flesh, he'd've been beetroot red from humiliation. Having a crystal body had some advantages.

"Because I know the range of Daxamite enhanced hearing and they are currently outside of it." Brainy paused as a muffled explosion sent up a cloud in the distance, "Also they are distracted by the nuns who are protecting the Order house. There are several Daxamites, you see, as well as the Durlans."

"No one squicks out a Daxamite quite like a Durlan," Chameleon grinned, "Brainy, get out of here before you sprain a frontal lobe talking down to Mr. Interesting. We'll clean up here."

"Thank you, Chameleon." Querl shouldered the phase knife and looked at Garth, "Very interesting with the laser. For a moment there, I thought you were actually thinking. Mother, if you'll follow me..." He took the madwoman's hand and together they vanished through the Threshold.

"That was his_ mom?!"_

Cham returned to his normal form so that he could arch an eyebrow, "Man you really **are** Mr. Stupid today. Whassa matta, you stoned or something? You got rocks in your head?"

"Yes, ha ha, you've both made it _crystal clear_ that I sprocked up." Cham grinned and Garth grinned back, "Now let's go, you can help me fix it."

* * *

"Welcome to Legion World, Mother," Querl said.

Brainiac 4 stepped through into the Legion's Threshold room and looked around, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Not with the Threshold room," Querl admitted, "The Omnilab might be more to your liking. Come." She shrugged and followed, wishing she could feel interest but the treatment's effects were steadily diminishing. "Legion World is in full night cycle," Querl said as he entered the lab, "I will locate a vacant flat for you."

"Haste is not required. I am not yet tired," she replied.

Querl set the phase knife down on a bench and gave her an apologetic look, "Would it disturb you if I left you here for a few minutes? I wish to check on Laurel."

"It does not disturb me. I am feeling rather bored and useless at the moment. I will use the time to examine this device."

Querl smiled and punched up a few screens, "I expect you'll take a few minutes to enjoy the feelings of boredom and uselessness, first. Here are my notes on the operation of my forcefields."

Brainiac 4 said nothing, then belatedly remembered, "...Thank you."

Querl smiled and leaned up to kiss her cheek, "I'll be back shortly, Mother." He squeezed her shoulder once then hurried out.

On the way to his flat, he wondered if he was trusting his mother too much. He wondered if he was touching her too much. He wondered if he was being too open, or too closed. He wondered if she was biding her time, if she had other, more nefarious plans. He sighed and pushed the fears back - as usual, all he could do was what he thought best, and hope it didn't blow up in his face. Oh well. He opened the door of his flat and stepped in. "Laurel?" he called very softly.

"In.. h-here..."

And knew instantly what had happened. Why else would she be weeping in the lavatory? She kicked the door switch open and he knelt beside her, ignoring the smell of blood. "Oh, Laurel," he whispered, pulling her against him and stroking her hair as she wept, "We knew it could happen. We'll try again."

"It started a few hours ago," Laurel managed, "I rushed here to Doctor Gym'Ll. Didn't have time to find you."

He nodded understanding and kissed her forehead, "I'd've just nassed you for doing so in the first place. Not that it would have made much difference." She wept harder and he winced, wondering if he'd just sprocked up. "Take heart, dear one. If he's anything like me, he'll look on it as a minor set-back. We can try again, and if it proves to be too daunting for nature, then we'll construct one. We can do that, you know. Colu's had that technology for more than a thou...sand... years..."

Laurel looked up to see him staring into the middle distance in shock, "Querl?"

"Laurel, forgive me, I have to get back to my mother, she's in the lab. I think I know why the Council has chosen _now_ to try to eliminate us!"

Laurel nodded and scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, "Go."

"Laurel, I'm sorry..."

She shook her head, "I'll be here for another couple of hours, probably. You need to put a stop to this as soon as possible. I don't like people trying to kill my husband. Or me," she added as an afterthought.

"We're just in the Omnilab," he told her, then kissed her soulfully, "I'm sorry." He ran out of the apartment and bolted down the halls.

"Brainiac 5..."

"Yes?" Querl spun around with an expression of annoyance, then his face exploded in pain. He staggered back and looked in shock at his assailant, "You?! But..." Another punch threw him to the edge of consciousness. The last thing he was aware of, before the darkness swamped his mind, was being shoved through the Threshold.

* * *

_Oww... face hurts. Several fractures, almost certainly.. fractured maxilla... cracked mandible... feels like a few teeth are dislodged... So cold.. Where am I?_

He opened his eyes.


	8. Category Two

Category Two

"It's five o'clock - do you know where your Daxamites are?"

"Very funny, Ice," Kid Quantum grinned. She held the White Triangle soldier in her quantum field, "Put him on ice!"

Ice grinned and fired, "But I'm already spoken for! ...oh that's not what you meant."

Cosmic Boy passed the frozen Daxamite down to the Science Police squad and shook his head. Just their luck, another wise-cracker. From what he'd learned of Brek Bannin, he suspected that even if the guy lost an arm, he'd only say he could use a hand. Still, with all of the hardship the Legionnaires had been suffering lately, the humour was welcome.

"We've lost the Winathean Threshold," Ultra Boy reported over Jazz's omnicom.

Cos swore and shook his head, "Any casualties on your team?"

"A couple of mostly superficial injuries."

_"Mostly_ superficial?"

"Radiation burns and a few broken limbs but nothing debilitating or life-threatening. But with the Threshold out, we won't be home soon."

"I know, Ultra Boy. What about the Daxamites?"

"They and their Winathean agents are in custody. Just wish we could've done it before they took out the Threshold."

"Just stay tuned for Plan B." Cos was drowned out by an eruption of cheering, "What in the world..?"

Triad's voice was exultant, "We did it! We took down the Daxamites before they took down Braal! Virus broke through!"

"Get her over here, then! We need the help!"

Kid Quantum caught another Daxamite in her quantum field. "Shikari, stand ready," she called over her shoulder, "Get Virus to every other Threshold once she's done here."

"Ready, Quantum Legion."

The Threshold shimmered and discharged the slight, lavender-haired young woman. Grinning exultantly, she made a bee-line towards the soldier in Jazmin's field and blew in his face. A few minutes later, he was doubled over, retching, and running an obvious fever.

"I know just what to do!" Jazmin exclaimed. She concentrated hard, holding another Daxamite in a slowing field, and enveloping Virus's germs in a quickening field. This time it took mere seconds for the soldier to show full infection. A roar went up from the Science Police and Legionnaires as the last of the Daxamites fell. "That's it! Earth's Threshold is good!"

"Alright Virus!!" Ice seized his co-cadet in a big hug and swung her around, "What did you give them?"

"Daxamite zandric flu! We got the cultures from M'Onel. He said it was common a thousand years ago but resistance is low now. Invisible Kid altered the virus into a quick-release form and made it small enough to penetrate the transuits."

Kid Quantum nodded, "Well your work isn't done yet but it will be if I go with you. C'mon, we've got other Thresholds to save."

"Bye Brek!"

"Knock 'em out, Drura!"

They vanished through the Threshold. Cosmic Boy nodded and smiled, then opened his omnicom, "Madame President?"

"Listening, Cosmic Boy."

"Happy to report that Earth's Threshold sustained minor damage and all of the attacking Daxamites are in protective custody. The Threshold is still functioning and repair crews are already working on the damage."

President Wazzo breathed an audible sigh of relief, "That's one. I've received word that Winath, Durla and Aleph have lost their Thresholds."

"Yes ma'am, and the Titan Threshold has been damaged but the repair crews estimate they should have it operational within twelve hours. Braal's Threshold is fine and once Virus and Kid Quantum have finished their rounds, we shouldn't have any more losses. We should be alright for a while."

"That _is_ good news," Wazzo sighed again, "Thank you, Legionnaires."

"Happy to serve, Madame President," Rokk grinned. He looked up as his team mates started trickling in through the Threshold, some jubilant, some looking resigned or disappointed. "Okay group, Kid Quantum and Virus have gone to disable the remaining Daxamites, so the others will be along soon. We can wait for them back on Legion World." He smiled at the cheer that followed. He nodded to the Earth Threshold's Kwai.

The Kwai shook his head, "Legion World Threshold is not there."

_**"What?!"**_

* * *

Apparition's hands moved swiftly over the monitor board. Call after call was coming in and she was preparing the status reports for the United Planets' Thresholds. Finally she stretched and put the calls on hold, then got up. She could just e-send the information to the Omnilab, but the walk would stretch her legs. "Brainy?" she called as she stepped through the lab door, "Brainy?" No answer. She walked further into the lab and saw legs emerging from beneath one of the Omnicom banks. She smiled and called a little louder, "Brainiac?"

"I am uNdEr here."

Apparition frowned, "Are you coming down with something? You don't sound right."

"My PhySiCaL hEAltH iS at optimum." Green hands reached up to push the creeper out from beneath the Omnicom.

Apparition stared. "Awwwwww nooooooo... I knew letting that girl in here would be a mistake. You've got that, what is it, Granderian gender-swap disease or something, isn't it?"

The puzzled-looking Coluan glanced down at herself and shook her head, "I hAvE alWAyS been female. I presume it is my son you are actually seeking?"

"Your s--!" Apparition blinked in shock, "Oh my grife, you look almost exactly like him!" Something flickered across the composed face, something that vaguely resembled the expression of resigned annoyance that Brainy got whenever someone stated the obvious.

"So many snappy come-backs, so little time," Mother Andromeda chuckled, "And believe me, the family resemblance is more than just skin deep. This is Brainiac 4. This is Tinya Wazzo, codename Apparition. She walks through walls."

"Uh, Andromeda... what is she doing here?"

Laurel ignored her. Instead she spoke to Brainiac 4, "Querl's stepped out?"

"hE iS nOT with you?"

"No?"

Another flicker of annoyance marred Brainiac 4's face then was gone. "He lEfT to cHecK oN yOu and said he would return quickly but he has not done so."

Laurel nodded then frowned, "He did come see me. Then he realized something and said he needed to talk to you immediately and he left again."

"Excuse me..." Apparition tried.

"I hAvE nOt seen him."

"What is she doing here?"

"He hasn't come back? But it's been ninety minutes!"

"And what is she doing to Brainy's computer?"

"I HavE nOt sEEn him since he left to check on you."

"HEY!!" They both broke off and stared at Tinya. "Andromeda, the last time we saw Brainy's mom, she tried to kill him!"

Brainiac 4 shook her head dismissively, "thAt wOuLd bE cOUnTer-ProDuctive at this point and would serve the interests of those who seek to eliminate us."

"Actually that's what he wanted to talk to you about. He said he'd realized why they would want to eliminate you both **now** all of a sudden. Given what we were talking about at the time, I believe it has something to do with genetic manipulation."

"tHaT wOUlD be a matter of urgency."

Apparition glowered, tired of being shut out of the conversation. "You know, we _could_ try tracking his Legion ring."

"I always forget about that," Andromeda said, then looked at Apparition, "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't answered your question, have I?"

**"No."**

Andromeda grinned, "Sorry. She was being hunted by assassins so Querl brought her here for better protection."

"After what she did to him?!"

"She said she was sorry and promised not to do it again." Apparition boggled and Andromeda grinned, "Don't worry, she's safe. Querl's not stupid."

Apparition lifted a skeptical eyebrow, "No, but he **is** too trusting sometimes. Sometimes it gets him into more trouble than his curiosity."

* * *

It spiralled majestically, too slowly and too quickly to be seen. Directional terms like above, below, in front of -- they had no meaning in deep space. They had meaning only when held by a world's gravity. This had gravity and though he couldn't feel the movement, he was certain he was caught in it.

_No transuit and my forcefield won't last forever. Can already feel the cold. Legion ring is gone, belt is gone, no way to contact anyone. I don't recognise any of these stars. I don't know where I am. Must've been out for a while if I can already feel the cold. Call it a couple of hours before I succumb and then my forcefield will fail. After that, maybe a minute, two minutes tops._

_Damn. This time they may have succeeded. Unless some sort of miracle occurs, I'm dead_. He gazed into the swirling vortex, bathed in its light, buffetted by the jet of particles, gases and radiations spewing from its maw. _At least they had the courtesy to dump me near a black hole. A fitting grave for one of the Brainiac lineage. A pity no one will ever know._

* * *

Kid Quantum folded her arms across her chest with a sigh. "Alright," she said sternly, "Let's hear it."

"I was seeking Brainiac 5. I entered the Omnilab where I discovered this woman attempting to sabotage the Omnilab Threshold. She had already sabotaged the lab Omnicom. I investigated and found the main Threshold destroyed. Brainiac 5's flight ring lay crushed beside the damaged Threshold, his belt also. This woman matches the description of the known criminal, Brainiac 4. It is my belief that she is responsible for the destruction of the Threshold, Mother Andromeda's miscarriage, and the disappearance of Brainiac 5."

"Thank you, Cadet Babbage," Kid Quantum said wearily. She looked at the woman who was the spit and image of Brainiac 5, "Anything to say? _Besides_ 'this is a pack of lies?'"

"The Omnicom is not sabotaged. I was upgrading it for improved access and integration."

"I'm sure you were," Jazmin sighed, "What are you doing here in the first place?"

"My son brought me, thinking that I should have better protection than I could have in Samnor."

Jazmin lifted a sceptical eyebrow. "Alright then. What's your version of events?" Brainiac 4 was silent. "Nothing?"

"Given past events, you have already made your decision about me. To what end should I waste my breath? What are my chances of belief?"

Kid Quantum stared at her, suppressing a shudder at the woman's cold, emotionless monotone. Finally she waved her hand dismissively, "Alright, take her into custody."

Saturn Girl stood up, "I'll do it." Kid Quantum flexed her eyebrow again, then nodded. Without another word, Saturn Girl took Brainiac 4's arm and escorted her out of the room.

They walked in silence. Though she might have sensed around a little, Imra didn't bother. She knew she would encounter only the hard wall of mental control, impossible to penetrate without, as Brainy once put it, 'an embossed invitation.' Instead of descending to the restraint levels, Imra led them to her flat.

"Tea?" she offered. Brainiac 4 said nothing. There was not even suspicion in her expression; her face was disturbingly flat, blank. Imra sighed, "Brainy once said it was the story of his life, you try to do what you think is best and it blows up in your face. Andromeda's insistant and R.J. Brande is vouching for you and for Brainy." She set the tea down and pushed a cup in front of the other woman, "Will you tell **me** what happened?"

"You are a telepath."

"Yes. If you wish, I can verify your memories, but I thought you might like to be heard."

"I was upgrading my son's computer. My son left me to check on Sister Andromeda, saying he would return shortly. He did meet with Andromeda, but failed to return to me. Apparition was present when we discussed this. Andromeda left to trace my son's flight ring while Apparition went to check on her child. I resumed my work on the computer. Destructive noise drew my attention and I discovered the Robotican." Imra nodded thoughtfully. Brainiac 4 considered for a moment then added, "I was unaware that Andromeda had miscarried."

Imra glanced up sharply, "We didn't even know she was pregnant. I verified it with her during the interview."

"It was kept a secret between Andromeda, my son and myself. She needed information on gestating a child of Dox lineage."

Imra leaned forward and confided, "That was what tipped me off -- how'd _Babbage_ know? I can't verify Babbage; I can't read a computer mind. He had Brainy's trust and could get close to him very easily. And he would certainly be quick to take advantage of your background and throw suspicion on you. May I verify you?"

"Yes."

Imra placed her fingertips along Brainiac 4's hairline and paused, "Andromeda tells me the Durlans were working to stimulate your emotions, and that Brainy was planning to continue that work. Since I can say with some 99 percent certainty that he would have been asking for my involvement at some point anyways, would you like me to see if there's anything I can do for you? If nothing else, I can probably get a good feel for what's going on."

Brainiac 4 opened her eyes and for the first time, something flickered in their depths. "Yes."

"Okay. Here goes."

Imra closed her eyes and concentrated. She'd expected it to be like Brainy's mind, tightly controlled but for what he wanted her to read. The inaccessable parts hidden behind that iron control always gave Imra the sense of water contained by a dam, all that power pent up. **This** felt like the eye of a hurricane. She could feel the effects of the emotion work ripping through Brainiac 4's mind, skating across all twelve parallel thought tracks and disrupting them at random. She grabbed one and examined it, shocked. Then she gathered her courage and dove into one of the emotional storms.

When she withdrew, she was shaking, pale and gasping for breath. "Okay," she managed, "That's the best I can do for now. It's just a mask but it should last for a little while. I have some ideas for Brainy, though. But first we have to find him."

Brainiac 4 leaned forward, concerned, "The Robotican must have put him through the Threshold, then destroyed his ring to make him untraceable."

"Without a Kwai to navigate, he could be anywhere. He could be floating in deep space for all we know. The Kwai could find him, but with the Thresholds destroyed, we can't get to him from Legion World and it'll take too long to get a shuttle down to Earth's Threshold. Brainy's forcefield won't last forever and he's been missing for hours."

"The laboratory Threshold sustained only minor damage. It is operational..."

Imra frowned, "They said it wasn't working?"

Brainiac 4 shook her head. She was growing increasingly agitated, "It is a dedicated Threshold. It did not require a Kwai to navigate it as it opened only to Andromeda's Order house in Samnor."

Imra's eyes widened, "But it works? It's fully functional?"

"No. Even with a Kwai to navigate, it will have a very short range due to its intended function. However... if I can get to Altair..."

"What's on Altair? Something that will help Brainy?"

"Yes."

Imra nodded decisively, "Okay then. Let's go. I'll send Shikari with you. She's the Kwai Legionnaire."

Brainiac 4 hesitated, "If she can give me my son's general location, I can pinpoint him from there. I understand your concerns. I understand that you do not trust me. However, the people of Colu do not know about this and must not learn of it until we are in a fortified position."

Imra locked eyes with her for several moments then nodded, "I trust you. After what I saw in your mind... yes, I trust you. You have to find him. Let's go."

"Saturn Girl... Thank you."

Imra smiled, "Brainy's a good friend. He'd want me to do this, even if it blows up in our faces."

Shikari was waiting for them. "This is as close as I can get to Green Legion," she said sadly, "It's still a lot of space to search."

Brainiac 4 took the coordinates and looked up, "Thank you. This should be sufficient."

"But how will you find him, Green Mother?"

"I have my ways," she replied shortly, then turned to embrace Andromeda. "You must work with the others," she told her, "There is a connection between Robotica and Colu. Investigate the robotics faction of Colu for involvement."

"I'm going with you."

Brainiac 4 shook her head firmly, "No. There is too much to do and insufficient time. I will find my son and return him to you."

She turned and stepped through the Threshold. She emerged onto a windswept plain, in front of a deserted military bunker. A few steps brought her to the edge of the sliding doors of an underground hanger. "I have returned," she announced to the empty air.

**ACKNOWLEDGED.**

* * *

_So cold... shivering stopped a while ago. Hypothermia setting in... won't last much longer. Forcefield will fail... maybe be unconscious when that happens? Hope so... Sorry.. can't think my way out of this one... so cold... Sorry, Laurel... sorry, Lyle... sorry, Rond... _

The tears rolled down his face, a sure sign that he was in the grip of the black hole's gravity well. They made it half way down his cheeks before they froze. He could feel the disorientation and drowsiness growing and curled in on himself, trying to conserve what little he had left. The splendour of the black hole reflected in his eyes. He'd be dead long before he reached the event horizon.

He couldn't feel his forward motion in the black hole's grip but he sure felt the shock of inertia when something else seized him and started to drag him back. With great effort, he turned to see space distorting behind him._ Another black hole? ...No, a... I don't know what that is..._

Then the spatial distortion and the severe pull vanished. He stared in wonder at the green light that bathed him, emanating from the eyeslit ports and skull-shaped dome of the ship that now hovered before him. Its tentacles waved in the black hole's jet stream, then reached out to gather him in.


	9. High Seas

The first thing he was aware of was a dim green glow. The second thing was the oxygen mask over his face. The third thing was the pressure and flow of regen fluid. He was in a regen tank, then? So he **had** been rescued. But - he shuddered, remembering the last image he'd seen before he'd passed out - by whom?

_I really hope that was just a bad dream,_ Querl thought. He looked around, trying to peer through the murky fluid.

He startled when a voice broke over the audio plugs, "Ah, you are awake. That is excellent."

"Mother...?"

"Yes. You are safe and appear to be regenerating nicely."

"Where are we?" Querl peered around but didn't see any tell-tale shadows, "Where are you?"

"My ship. I am currently in the command link. The ship will be releasing you shortly."

Sure enough, the regen fluid began to drain away with sticky, sucking sounds. Querl blinked his eyes clear and looked around, "Laurel?"

"She is on Legion World, investigating connections between Colu and Robotica."

"_Babbage! _Babbage attacked me and shoved me through the Threshold!"

"We surmised as much when we found the Threshold destroyed and your flight ring crushed."

The tank door opened and Querl removed the mask and stepped out. He stumbled and was shivering, but he felt generally alright. Something was nagging at him. "This is your ship?" he asked, towelling himself off, "I didn't dream it? Because it looked like..."

"Yes, it is. It's not a replica."

Querl looked around. He found his clothes and put them on, still staring around himself. The ports showed stars as streaks of light. He tried to think of some comment but he was still feeling a bit addled. He settled for, "Wow!" followed by, "Is there any tea on this space ship?"

Brainiac 4 chuckled, "Yes. Are you feeling well enough to join me on the main deck?"

"Is it very far?" Querl picked up an object and frowned, "I thought you said my ring had been destroyed?"

"It was. That one is Andromeda's. Follow the lights."

Querl shrugged and did as he was told. "You sound different, Mother. You sound... forgive me for phrasing it like this, but you sound almost normal."

"Your friend Saturn Girl has placed what she called a 'mask' over my mind. This does not feel entirely natural. I'm not certain these emotions are my own."

"If it's a mask, they probably aren't," Querl said, staring around at the ship as he floated through its corridors. "It's probably an overlay to give your mind an idea of what it's like. Like... mental training wheels, or something." He pressed his hand to his forehead, "Forgive me, I'm still somewhat out of it."

"Understandable. You were exhibiting terminal burrowing behaviour when I found you."

_So, near death, then._ "Not many places to burrow in deep space. Speaking of which, where are we?"

"Just about far enough out of the black hole's gravity well."

_Not quite what I was asking but it'll do,_ Querl thought. He emerged onto the command deck just as the star streaks became points of light and the sensation of motion ceased. He turned around and gaped, "...Wow!"

"There. We are far enough out now that it will be safe to drift," Brainiac 4 disengaged from the command chair and stood up, "Once your mental faculties are sufficiently recovered, we can return to Legion World."

"Legion World? No! - we have to get to Colu!"

"Colu? Why?"

"That's what I was going to tell you when Babbage sucker-punched me."

"Tch. Come, sit down. You're shivering. Tell the ship what you want in your tea."

"Huh?"

Brainiac 4 tsked again and dropped a self-warming blanket around his shoulders. "Ship, this is my son."

**ACKNOWLEDGED. IDENTIFY FOR VOICE PRINT.**

Querl blinked. "...Querl Dox. Brainiac 5."

**ACKNOWLEDGED. VERIFIED. ACCESS PERMITTED.**

Querl blinked again then glanced at his mother, "Uh.. Could I get some tea? Three hundred fifty milliliters brewed lapsang souchong, eighty degrees, with five grams of sugar and fifteen milliliters of milk?" He sighed with relief as the commissary slot delivered exactly what he needed. He picked it up but needed both hands to get it to his mouth.

Brainiac 4 wrinkled her nose, "That's tea? It smells awful."

Querl grinned, "I know. I can't say that it's one of my favorites but I need something strong. But I must say, as aromatic as lapsang souchong is, it has nothing on pu-erh." He was shaking harder and took another long sip. He wished desperately that Laurel or Lyle or even Rond were here - then he could at least get a hug. Satisfy the organism that it's alive and safe... Alive, yes; safe, not really. He swallowed again and fought for calm. "What I was going to tell you before Babbage so rudely interrupted me... Laurel miscarried the baby." Brainiac 4 nodded. "We knew the probability was high. We were discussing options, including that of constructing a child should it prove impossible to create one naturally."

Brainiac 4 nodded, "That is easy enough to do. Our own ancestor, Vril Dox II, was such a being."

"_Exactly,"_ Querl said, "Colu's had our lineage for more than a thousand years and they just don't have enough imagination to get along without us. So if they've chosen to eliminate us..."

"They've likely found a replacement," Brainiac 4 finished.

"When we questioned him, Laurel's father called me a 'freak who's bloodline is too polluted for his own people.' That would be referring to Vril Dox's mate, Stealth. Lyrl Dox was half whatever she was, and his excesses are infamous. And you..." Querl shrugged apologetically.

Brainiac 4 merely shrugged. "If they have chosen to refine a purer Dox genotype, again why now? There are still questions."

Querl nodded, "I know, there's something we're missing. Something occurred when I woke up but now I can't call it back to mind. We're missing something, something obvious."

"Colu, then," Brainiac 4 agreed.

* * *

"Thanks for the help, Cham. I really do appreciate it," Garth smiled. They were helping the crews install the emergency stargate that Brainiac 5 had stashed on Durla 7.

Chameleon grinned, "Not a problem. It _is_ easy to forget about the Daxamites' super-hearing; it's just not an obvious power."

Garth rolled his eyes, "Of all the times to sprock up, it had to be in front of Brainy."

"Ah, he's back on Legion World with the Holy Snuzzlebunnies, he's probably forgotten all about it by now." They laughed, then Cham gestured at Garth's crystal body, "Besides, you impressed him with the laser trick. It sure impressed the heck out of me! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I," Garth grinned proudly, "I remembered how Jan used to change himself into different substances and that gave me the idea." He concentrated and created the Tromium necessary to activate the stargate. "Done!"

They dusted off their hands and watched as the stargate was put into service. Then, satisfied, they headed back towards the inner city. "How're you doing here?" Chameleon asked.

Garth stretched and his smile took on a happy glow, "It's funny, you'd think I could think just fine back in the habitats on Legion World... but there's something about this place that's... I don't know, different somehow. I think different thoughts here."

"No pressure, maybe," Cham suggested.

"Maybe," Garth agreed. He lifted his crystal fingers and watched the sunlight dancing off of them, "I feel different here. It's like it's speaking to a part of me I didn't know was there." He changed himself, shifting his colours - amethyst, citrine, cairngorm - then smiled.

Cham looked at him shrewdly. "Maybe it wasn't," he suggested quietly.

Garth looked at him then remembered that Cham had been the son of Durla's last spiritual leader. "You think maybe Jan's in here too. I've asked but there's been no answer. Imra didn't find any sign of him when she scanned me... but maybe she didn't want to." Garth shrugged, "Maybe I've got part of his soul."

Cham nodded then grinned, "Or maybe you're just growing up."

Garth laughed, "Yeah and that too. It's kind of a moot point, in any case. This is me now. Deal with it; I have to."

"No problems here," Cham chuckled, "I'm a Durlan, change is what we're all about."

They passed through the gates into the inner city and Garth waved to some of the children who ran past. "The Durlan kids think I'm the second greatest thing since sliced bread. They want to know why they can't change their substance," Garth grinned, "S'funny though, I can't tell the boys from the girls."

"That's because they're still children," Cham shrugged, "We don't gain gender until we're adult."

Garth blinked, astonished, "Really? I had no idea!" Cham shrugged again and nodded. "But you're male, aren't you, Cham? Or do you just look the part?"

Cham's grin took on the overtones of a leer, "I'm a Durlan, I can look however I want. I impersonated Winema Wazzo, remember?" He shifted into the U.P. President's shape and chuckled at Garth's expression. "Yeah, I'm genetically male. I joined the Legion shortly after I became adult."

"All these years I've known you and I had no idea," Garth said, impressed. They entered one of the Order houses and grabbed a couple of buns and some drinks. "I've been staying here the most often. I like it here. And could you get out of Wazzo's shape before people start to think you're her?"

Cham grinned mischeviously and grabbed a robe. "I'd've figured you'd stay at Eternal Cosmos with Andi." He pulled the robe on then with a relieved sigh, shifted into the amorphous mass of tentacles that was his natural form. "Does it bother you if...?"

Again Garth blinked in astonishment, "Sprock no! Otherwise I wouldn't be staying with the Durlans! I just never remember that that's your natural form." He grinned slyly and added, "I've heard it bothers Cos, though."

Cham burst out laughing, "Oh grife! When the maglock on our apartment failed, you mean? Oh grife, that was hilarious. And embarrassing. Poor Ayla."

"Yeah, she was trying to keep her anime addiction hidden," Garth chuckled. Then he asked in a quiet voice, "How is Ayla?"

Cham shrugged again. "She's alright, I guess. Not coping well. At least, that's how I see it."

Garth nodded, "I was afraid of that. She's replacing me with Mekt, isn't she."

"Sometimes it seems that way," Cham allowed. Garth chewed that over mopily for a few minutes, then appeared to shrug it off. "That's the spirit," Cham smiled, "Don't worry, she'll come around. She's dating a Durlan, after all -- she has _some_ mental flexibility."

* * *

_Pandora's box,_ Querl thought. The irony amused him. Inside it were glittering amethyst cabochons. The shapes and quantity matched the jade cabochons that decorated Brainiac 4's brow, the largest of them centered on her forehead like a bindi. He swept his hair back from his forehead and let her place the gems along his hairline.

"You will require these to interface with the ship," she told him, "You will also find them a more convenient interface with your Omnilab computer. I was in the midst of upgrading it when I was interrupted."

"How do they work?"

"They are related to EEG sensor buds. They receive and transmit the impulses of your thoughts. They monitor only, they do not modify in any way."

"Fascinating."

The ship's command deck was a large and comfortable chair that modified itself to fit the user precisely. Arrayed above and around it were the light cannons that read the jewel-like sensors. Brainiac 4 settled in, then the machinery hummed and the light cannons fired, their beams chasing around her head. The ship's engines rumbled then settled into a low thrum. "From what I have been able to determine, the Council does not know that I have the ship," she told him, "However, they will still be alert for it. Therefore, we will emerge just outside of Colu's solar system, and chase in from there."

Querl nodded then shook his head, "I have no idea what you mean. I have ridden in this ship once before, but it appears to be operating differently from what I remember. Clearly it isn't using a Threshold or a stargate but it doesn't seem to be using a fusion drive either. When you came to rescue me, I saw what appeared to be some sort of spacial distortion, but I have no idea what it was."

"It is an artificial singularity. The ship utilises a gravity drive as its primary means of propulsion."

Querl blinked, "Oh!!"

Brainiac 4 skootched over to make room in the command chair, "Come. It will take twenty minutes for the ship to build a gravity ball sufficient to permit point-to-point transfer. I will explain its function."

"It does point-to-point?" Querl found himself hanging back, reluctant to join his mother in the command chair.

"The ship is capable of both free-space travel and instantaneous point-to-point transfer. Both are achieved with the gravity drive. Come up; you are shivering. Shared body heat will warm you."

"I'm alright," Querl dodged. He knew that the moment he got up there, he'd lose control of his emotions. "How is free-space travel achieved?"

"The singularity creates a phenomenon similar to a vortex. The 'tail' of the vortex may attach to another point coordinate, permitting instantaneous transfer, or it may spin loose. In either case, the ship 'falls' into the gravity well. For free-space travel, the ship continually pushes the gravity ball ahead of it while simultaneously falling into its well."

"Which is what you meant by 'chasing' -- it chases the ball," Querl's eyes lit with excited understanding, "But how is the singularity created in the first place?"

He knew Brainiac 4's answer immediately: Her face twisted into an expression of reluctance and frustration. Querl bit down on a grin; she looked like she was chewing on a slug. He knew that slug and had chewed on it himself with the same amusing distaste. **No** Brainiac ever liked encountering that answer. Finally she spat it out, "I don't know." She scowled at him, "Something is amusing?"

"No, Mother."_ Just realizing how honestly I come by some of my mannerisms,_ Querl thought. Aloud he said, "Of course you have many hypotheses that you have been testing."

She looked away slightly, flicking her eyes, "Of course."

_'Don't even know where to begin,'_ Querl translated, biting his cheek to keep from grinning, _Because that's what I do when it's me._

She tilted her head at him and frowned, "Why are you reluctant to come up? Do you fear that I will harm you? I have already stated that I have no further intent to do so."

Querl floundered desperately for something to say. "N-no.. That's not it..."

"Perhaps such contact is considered inappropriate? That is irrelevant. You must come up if you are to learn to pilot the ship. The angles of the linkage array require it."

There was nothing Querl could say to that. Defeated, he climbed slowly up onto the dias and skootched into the chair. Brainiac 4's arm slid around his shoulders and drew him close. Querl stomped hard on the visceral reactions the contact instilled - the yearning, the relief, the terror... Then the linkage guns fired their beams, catching the jewels on his forehead, and drew him into communion with the ship.

The contact was achingly familiar. It was strongly remniscent of the communion he'd shared briefly with Computo. _I should have known it was self-aware,_ he thought wonderingly, _It's as alive as Computo... I should have known._

"You are weeping. Are you in pain?"

Querl shook his head firmly then admitted, "Emotional pain. It's been a busy day. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. You didn't tell me it was alive." He turned and pressed his face against her shoulder, trying to stop the tears, "I'll be okay."

"Pay attention, then. The gravity ball will be ready shortly. You must learn the navigational grid."

The light cannons fired and the ship projected its navigational map directly into the minds of its pilots. Querl gasped in shock, eyes wide, staring at the image only he and his mother could see. It wasn't a grid: It was the fabric of space itself. "It... it goes on forever! Is it truly infinite?"

"As near as I can tell, the ship can perceive every point in the universe."

Querl's head snapped up and he stared at his mother through the web of pointlines, "Oh, you're _kidding_ me!" She stared back as he began to laugh, "He actually did it? He actually went and built the Infinite Improbability drive! What a sprocking genius!"

"Perhaps you are not as recovered as you appeared."

Querl shook his head, "I'm okay, I'm okay. It's just... no, I'll explain some other time, it's not important."

**SINGULARITY COMPLETE.**

"The ship is now ready for instantaneous point-to-point transfer. You observe the filaments projected between points? - these are the worldlines. To transfer, you must locate the worldline between your current location and your destination, in this case Colu."

The tiny point flickered. Querl noted with dismay just how distant it was, how far out they were from known space. "I see it. How, then, is the transfer initiated?"

"Reach out, take the worldline... and pull."

* * *

"What if this doesn't work? Like, will you need a medic or anything?"

Garth shrugged, "Good question. So far my experiments have been fairly simple - the laser was the most complex I've gotten. I did try to convert myself to carbon and wound up diamond, which had its own useful applications."

Chameleon laughed, "Yeah, I saw that too. Those Triangles were definitely not expecting that."

"Ha! - No! Their faces were priceless. So was Brainy's," Garth chuckled. Then he grew more serious. "It's a little odd, you in your natural form... You're the same person and yet you're a little different. I guess it's the same for you, looking at me?"

"A little odd," Cham agreed, "But it doesn't bother me. The way I see it," and he morphed into the exact likeness of Jan, "You just changed your shape, that's all."

Garth nodded, thoughtful. "Thanks," he said sincerely, "It really helps that _someone_ I care about isn't creeped out by me."

Cham nodded and said earnestly, "I know **exactly** how you feel."

Garth blinked, "Yeah... I guess you do. I never thought of it like that." He reached out and hugged the Durlan - team mate, friend, possibly potentially brother-in-law, in time. "Okay... You ready for this?"

"Ready when you are."

"Okay. Here goes nothing." Garth concentrated, remembering the chemical formulas, remembering the structures, matching them to his own... He opened his eyes and the world looked so strange. He looked at his hands, then grinned widely, "It worked!"

Cham burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, I can't leaf this one alone... 'Got wood?'"


	10. Sinking Ship

It spun elegantly in space, an emerald as green as its inhabitants. Brainiac 5 felt an unexpected surge of homesickness as he gazed at his homeworld. Colu, the world of his birth, the world that had banished him, the world where all the answers lay._ We hope,_ he thought wryly. He looked up at Brainiac 4; at least he wasn't alone in his banishment.

"You are still shivering."

"Nerves, this time," he replied, "I can't shake the feeling that I'm trying to tell myself something. I'm missing something really obvious." He pushed his hands through his hair and sighed, frustrated, "And I know that when I do figure it out, I'm probably going to feel really stupid."

"Unlikely," Brainiac 4 replied. Her voice was becoming more monotone now; whatever 'mask' Saturn Girl put on her mind was starting to wear off. "If it is as obvious as you believe, I too do not recognise it. Therefore, it cannot be that obvious."

Querl couldn't help grinning, _Yeah you're my mom alright_. He watched her lean back in the command chair and the interface light cannons picked up speed, playing over her head like disco lights. "What are you doing?"

"Hacking into the SleepNet."

"Ooo! I never thought of that!"

"It requires proximity and an appropriate interface. It is, however, an excellent way to acquire ... information."

"Blackmail material," Querl translated, thinking of the Dark Circle's leader. So that was how she'd come up with so much information so quickly.

"It appears you were correct. I have located the target. I am uploading the information into your personal omnicom."

Querl, also linked into the ship via the dancing beams, saw the information and accompanying map and fought the urge to cheer. At last they were getting somewhere! He checked his omnicom to make sure the information had transferred properly, then disengaged himself from the ship's communion. Brainiac 4 did the same and Querl felt a pang, reluctant to break conta... oh grife, to stop snuggling. All his life he'd dreamed of cuddling with his mother and now that the dream was reality, he did not particularly wish to stop. Nevertheless, they had work to do. "Since I have Andromeda's flight ring, it will be easier to avoid detection if we leave the ship behind one of the moons," he said, "If you will permit me to carry you in my forcefield, Mother...?"

* * *

It didn't take long to find the right wing. Security, as expected, was very tight. Brainiac 4 took a few discs out of her belt and gave one to her son. When she activated it, they both faded into transparency.

"Lyle will be disappointed. This is his stock and trade," Querl commented. He stepped out to assess the situation. "Seven guards, armed with phase rifles. The door is deadlock sealed and there is a laser corridor beyond it, then another deadlocked door into the lab. The laser corridor is monitored and can be flooded with cyanide gas. There are three technicians in the lab," he reported when he returned.

Brainiac 4 flicked another disc at the computer bank. Then a laser-thin beam of light lanced from it into the master bindi on her forehead and the computer began to hum. Querl, suddenly recognising what she was doing, looked impressed.

A moment later, alarms began to howl. The guards responded immediately, some racing away, others deactivating the security controls. The lab techs ran out, accompanied by the guards. In minutes, the area was deserted and the two Brainiacs stepped out.

"They have resealed the inner chamber," Brainiac 4 reported, "The encryptions are complicated. It may take a few minutes to work them out."

"The passcodes are all fifteen-digit sections of the Plastic Number," Querl said absently, "This far in, it should be... hm, we're seven storeys down... Start at around the 705th place." He glanced up to see Brainiac 4 staring at him. "What? Our people really don't have much imagination."

"750th place."

"Grife, an even fifty passcodes in, that's even **more** obvious. And these are the smartest people in the spiral arm." Brainiac 5 shook his head, clearly disgusted with the state of the Coluan intelligence. The doors slid open and they stared at the glowing cylinder hanging in the lab.

Querl's heart was pounding as he approached it. He stared at the figure within and swallowed hard. Force-grown to physical adulthood, visually in mid-adolescence. The features, so familiar, some of them reflected in himself and in his mother. He knew them; he'd seen them before. "It's a clone," he said, tracing his fingers over the plasglass, "Just about ready for release." He noted the implants on the youth's cheeks, "Looks like they've taken some inspiration."

"Yes," Brainiac 4 bent to inspect the wires running up into the youth's cranium, "A greatly refined version of the Dox genotype. A pity they did not correct the Dox male tendency towards bad haircuts."

Brainiac 5 paused for a heartbeat then glared indignantly over the cylinder, "There's nothing wrong with my hair!"

"You look like a Polish chicken, Son."

"What?!"

"Although it is a modest improvement over the DA quiff you were sporting when we first met."

"Mother!"

"You looked like a refugee from the Terran 1950s."

"I can**not** believe we're having this conversation."

"If you flipped up your bangs and gelled them, you could call yourself Tin-tin."

"Can we get back to the **clone** please?!"

"The clone, yes... Really, a buzz cut? Not a good look."

"I was warned that your treatments induced often-inappropriate bursts of emotion. I certainly can't think of a more inappropriate time to develop a sense of humour."

Brainiac 4 smiled. "He has not yet been downloaded. If we intercept now, he should retain his native personality and develop as such."

"Lovely," Querl said with some distaste, "I remember his natural personality. He made me look absolutely personable." A thought struck him, "Er... what were they going to download over it?"

"I am searching for that information now," Brainiac 4 said. Querl became aware of the increased hum of the computers as they strained to keep up with Brainiac 4's demands. He made himself useful by disconnecting the inputs and disengaging the cylinder. Then Brainiac 4 tilted her head, "Curious... It appears a new faction of development has formed during our absence."

"Oh? In addition to the anti-emotion, anti-robotics and anti-organics factions? What we really need is an anti-anti-factions faction."

"This appears to be the anti-height faction."

"'The Campaign for Equal Heights?' What do they want, a height requirement? 'You must be this tall to live on Colu?' With my luck, they'll set it at one hundred seventy-eight centimeters," groused Querl, one hundred seventy three centimeters. He shrugged, "What do I care, they've banned me anyways."

"More like 'you must be this small to live on Colu,'" Brainiac 4 replied, "It is a movement to conserve resources, taking inspiration from the Imskian model." The alarm bells were ringing in Querl's head and whatever part of him was trying to tell him something was now jumping up and down and screaming like Koko. "The world would become 'the Bottle Pla...'" She broke off and they stared at each other in shock.

"That's it! **THAT'S IT!** It's **_HIM!_** That's who's behind all of this! -- It's_ Brainiac!_ The _first_ Brainiac!"

"But that's imp..." Brainiac 4 stopped herself and started calculating very aggressively.

"You said the word!"

"I didn't complete it!"

"Nevertheless, you started it! You said 'impossible!' That means it's anything but!"

"The historical record does indicate that he had experimented with robotics and cybernetics in an attempt to prolong his lifespan."

"And Robotica's technology far outstrips anything else in the sector," Querl agreed, eyes alight, "And if he's created an organic body for himself to rule here... If he's taken over Colu **and** Robotica..."

"Superior technology and the superior intelligence of the Coluan hive mind, unified via the SleepNet. Once he controls that, with the United Planets already in disarray, it will be very easy to usurp."

_"That's_ why he needs to eliminate us! I've fought him before, in the 20th Century! _And won!_ It was close and I needed help, but he knows that I can do it! And you, you, Mother... You were 12th Woman, _The Living Computer!_ You can take over any computer,_ including the SleepNet!"_

"And the Roboticans," Brainiac 4 added. She pulled another disc from her belt and set it on the clone cylinder, "This functions similarly to your friend's teleport gates. That was the inspiration, in fact. This has enough charge to get you and the cylinder to the ship. Take him to R.J. Brande, he will know what to do."

Querl swallowed his emotions when he realized Brainiac 4 had to stay on Colu, and fought the irrational urge to beg her to come back to Earth with him. "I don't even have a forcefield belt to give you," he lamented.

She blinked and touched one of the tiny jewel-like sensor buds on her forehead, "You gave me your notes; I built my own. There has not been time to inform you that I solved the phase issue. The parameters are on your lab omnicom."

"Thank you. I hope this can be resolved quickly and you can return to complete the upgrades you had begun."

Brainiac 4 crossed to him, "Son... do not trust the ship. There is no life more important to it than that of Brainiac. While its original master is absent, it transfers that directive to the lives of Brainiac's descendants."

"And if it learns that the original is alive, all bets are off. I understand, Mother."

She reached up to cup his cheek gently, "You must survive. You are all I have. You are the only one who makes me feel."

Querl felt the tears well up. That was it, then -- Laurel had said it, "you'd have to go a long way across the galaxy to find someone more 'it's all about me' than Brainiac 4." He only mattered to her because she'd felt more emotion over the last couple of days than she had in her entire life. But... he **did** matter to her now, and her emotions were so priceless to her that she would endure an hour of agony to achieve them. It was a start. He reached up and threaded his fingers through hers and asked, "Do you know why Laurel called you Pandora, Mother?"

"It is a Terran myth. Sister Andromeda hoped that I would be able to prevent another war."

Querl shook his head, "That's not why. It's because... they stole all of your emotions from you, but they left you with one. You've been acting from that emotion ever since. It's been your motivation for everything you've done, from being 12th Woman to being Dark Leader, to having me. You weren't completely without emotion, Mother - you've always had hope." She stared at him. Then, slowly, she teared up. He kissed her fingertips, "You have to survive, too, Mother, so I can complete the purpose for which you gave me life. I will find a way to cure you, Mother, I promise."

He saw her hand lift hesitantly, uncertainly, and he reached out to hug her. "You must go. Now," she told him.

Querl nodded. "I love you, Mother," he whispered, in case he never got another chance. Then he stepped to the cylinder and caught it in his forcefield. Then he activated the teleport disc and vanished.

* * *

The silence stretched out. Cub was still asleep, so Tinya didn't even have him to distract her from the tedium. Sometimes, she wished she could read Saturn Girl's mind, to know just what the other girl was thinking, at times like this. Although to be frank, right now part of it was pretty plain. "Can't blame you for feeling a little resentful," Tinya said, startling the other woman.

"Hm?" Imra's eyes fluttered open.

"I mean, it was pretty obvious that they stuck you on monitor duty as punishment for letting Brainiac 4 sneak out. It's not even close to being your regular turn."

Imra nodded, "True. But I owe it to Brainy. Besides, would you have wanted to be the one to tell Andromeda?"

"Point," Tinya grinned.

"I miss Garth," Imra admitted.

Tinya looked sympathetic and asked softly, "Do you know when he'll be back?"

_"If_ he'll be back," Imra said sadly, "It's an indefinite leave of absence. I really don't know."

"He didn't tell you anything?"

Imra shook her head, "And I haven't heard anything from him since. It's my fault - I didn't pay much attention when he told me he was going." She wiped her hand over her face and sighed, then looked at Tinya, "I haven't coped with what happened to him very well, have I?"

Tinya sighed, "Ayla's not done much better. It creeps me out, too, and I didn't even go through what you guys went through, with Jan."

Imra was silent for several minutes. Then, in a tiny voice, she said, "I think I was glad when he left."

Tinya just nodded. Imra, who'd been expecting a gasp, shock, protests - none of which were forthcoming - glanced at her. "What? I understand how you feel," Tinya said, "Staying with Cub wasn't the only reason I wanted to stay on monitor duty." She sighed and leaned against the duty desk, supporting her cheek with her hand, "I'm so tired of the fighting and the arguing and the suspicion and the paranoia.. not to mention the stench of testosterone. I love Jo as much as ever but I'm seriously considering asking for a divorce."

"Oh honey..."

"I don't know how much longer I can take this and it just isn't a good environment for Cub."

Imra reached out for her old friend as Tinya started to cry. Jo and Tinya were the first. Having endured so much and come through, they'd been become the Legionnaires' icons of 'love triumphs over all.' Because of that, the tension between Tinya, Jo and Brin had been a strain on the entire Legion. "Is.. is this because of... what I did?"

Tinya hugged her tightly, then sat back and wiped her eyes, "You know, I blamed you for the longest time, but now..." she sighed and shrugged, "I think it would have happened anyways. He lost me once and I think it affected him a lot more than he realizes."

"It has," Imra admitted candidly, "That's why I..."

"I know. I can understand that now. You did what you thought you had to do to keep him from coming unglued."

"Brainy's the only one who really understood that," Imra sighed, "That's why I had to let Brainiac 4 go. I honestly don't think we had any other chance of finding him. We don't know where he ended up and by the time we got a shuttle down to Earth's Threshold, it could have been too late."

"It might still be too late."

Imra shook her head and her eyes looked haunted. "What I saw in that creature's mind," she whispered.

"Imra?"

"The things she's done to get even a taste of what we take for granted," Imra wiped her eyes, "When I saw... I knew Brainy would've wanted me to try. He'd've had me evaluate her anyways, I know that. Grife, Tinya, I'm so sprocking shallow... A miracle gave me back my Garth and I'm agonizing over _pittances_ and that poor creature..."

"That 'poor creature' tried to murder her son."

"I know, I know. But I know Brainy, too. He was giving her another chance and he'd've expected us to, as well."

"That's true," Tinya sighed, then startled as a klaxon sounded, "Hey, we've got incoming!!" Her hands moved rapidly over the keys, calling up visuals and opening the ID encyclopedia.** "Grife!!"**

Imra's eyes went wide, "Is that...?!"

"Unknown ship, this is Legion World control! Identify yourself immediately!"

"Relax, Apparition - it's just me."

**"Brainy!!** You're alright!"

"Where did you get that ship?!" Imra demanded.

"It's my mother's ship, Saturn Girl." Imra breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Call R.J. Brande and have him meet me in Medical," Brainy instructed, "We'll need to have a conference, so let President Wazzo know."

Saturn Girl nodded, "Understood, Brainy. The Legion World Threshold has been destroyed though, so he'll have to take a shuttle."

"Unsurprising. It's just as well, it will take me another fifteen minutes to coast in. I just hope I don't sprock up the docking procedure. I've never done this before."

"Brainy, that thing looks an awful lot like..."

"That's because it is. I'll tell you everything when I arrive. Querl Dox out."

* * *

The giant skull-shaped ship hovered, metal tentacles swaying, bathing the docking bay in its ichor-green light. Recognition made him feel cold and he shivered, "By damn! I never thought I'd see it again!"

Cosmic Boy's head snapped around, "'Again?' You've seen it before, sir?"

"Oh yes," R.J. Brande breathed, "Oh yes, I've seen it before."

"Brainy said it was his mother's ship."

"It's..." Brande shrugged, "I suppose it's an heirloom now." He turned to follow Cos to the Medical labs.

"They've started the release cycle," Cos told him, "He'll probably be out by the time we get there. Brainy's insisting that you be there when he wakes up."

"I can't fathom why," Brande shook his head.

They passed through the Medical lab doors and walked over to where Doctor Gym'Ll, Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid and Gear were clustered. An EEG monitor screen was visible and Brande noted the mostly inoperative traces. As he watched, the traces began exhibiting more activity. "Mr. Brande..."

"Querl!" R.J. hugged the young man, startling him. He pulled back to hold him by the shoulders and looked him over critically, "By damn, son! - you've had one hell of a day!"

"Yes sir."

"Where's your mother?"

"She's on Colu, sir. She said you would know what to do with him. We estimate perhaps twenty minutes until he achieves full consciousness," Querl told him, then pulled back the bed curtain.

Brande gasped and he felt the blood drain from his face, "By damn...!_ Vril Dox!!"_


	11. Flight

"...Did it work?"

"Dude!! Did it ever!"

* * *

The EEG showed the rhythmic patterns of slow-wave sleep. All of the clone's brain functions were coming together as anticipated. Already the first twitches of theta waves were showing up.

"By damn," R.J. Brande breathed again, "Vril Dox. Of all the unexpected."

"Mother insisted that you would know what to do?" Querl said.

Brande nodded, "Yes. This is Brainiac-Vril's son, Vril Dox II. He was an engineered offspring and artificially grown to physical adulthood. He was brilliant, but in a lot of ways, he was still a child."

"I wonder why Brainiac would choose him as a cloning template. They were quite hostile to each other," Querl remembered.

"Colu probably retained tissue samples and the like. Young Vril was quite the hero in his day."

Querl nodded, "That's true. His L.E.G.I.O.N was quite unprecedented."

Brande smiled, "It certainly was."

Querl glanced up at the EEGs. One after another, all twelve tracks of consciousness were firing into activity. "This is it."

Brande leaned forward, "C'mon, lad, wakey-wakey. Come up and greet the world. Wake up, Vril."

"...d'rl'n?"

"Right here, lad. Wake up, now."

"D'rlan? Is 't y'u?"

"It's me, son. Right here for you, just like always. How much do you remember, son?"

The boy's eyes flickered open and tried to focus. Querl waved the lights to a dimmer luminosity, still staring at Brande. "Durlan? Wh're are we? Are we st'll on St'rl'g?"

"No, lad. We're somewhere safe. It's a long, long story, Vril."

The boy's eyes flicked towards Querl and registered the presence of the other Coluan. Then he looked back at Brande and frowned, "Why're you dr'ssed like a m'nkey?"

Brande laughed and patted the boy's hand, "Part of the long story, lad. I contracted Yorggian fever and it disabled me. I can't shift anymore. I only survived because of my sturdier 20th Century constitution. Lad, we're a thousand years in the future. We're in the 31st Century now. You're Vril Dox III, you're a clone of Vril Dox II and you appear to retain some of his memories. This fine young fellow here," he took Querl's arm and pulled him over, "Is Querl Dox, Vril's descendant. He's called Brainiac 5 and he's made the name of Brainiac respectable. He and his mother found you on Colu, still in your cloning cylinder. We think you were cloned by the original Brainiac and intended to carry his consciousness. Am I going too fast for you?"

The boy looked affronted then grudgingly admitted, "There are some points that require clarification."

Brande grinned and winked at Querl, who bit his lip._ Translation: 'A little, yes,'_ Querl thought,_ Astonishing how many of our mannerisms appear to be inherited._

* * *

"You're positive?"

"Absolutely, Madame President. The historical record showed that Brainiac had experimented several times with transferring his consciousness to a robotic form, in search of immortality."

President Wazzo tented her fingers and chewed her fingernail thoughtfully. "The last recorded sighting of the original Brainiac was in the 25th Century, shortly before the Robot Wars."

Brainiac 5 lifted a sceptical eyebrow, "Really? I have not found any such references."

"Not surprising. As you know, the civilisations of the spiral arm took quite a backwards punch after the Robot Wars. A lot of information was lost, not just technologies. The sighting was recorded in the Durlan records, but almost as an afterthought." Brainiac 5 nodded understanding and President Wazzo sighed, "Still, the last recorded sighting coincides roughly about the same time that you speculate Colu began developing the Metallo Virus."

Brainiac 5 heaved a sigh of comprehension, "And suddenly, the Robot Wars make sense."

"What about this new one?" Kid Quantum asked.

"He is a clone of Vril Dox II, who was the engineered son of Vril Dox I, Brainiac," Querl explained, "The clone has undergone considerable enhancement, including a direct computer uplink ability and artificially increased mental processing speed. It appears that the intent was to download Brainiac's consciousness into the clone, who would then_ be_ Brainiac. We intercepted the clone at a fortuitous time and he should develop his native personality."

Kid Quantum grinned, "You don't look happy about that."

"I met Vril Dox II back in the 20th Century," Querl sighed, "I assure you, I am quite pleasant and personable by comparison."

Kid Quantum bit her lip, "That bad, is he?"

"The difference is metaphorically comparable to that between the copulatory organ and the excretory orifice." President Wazzo actually choked on her drink and Cosmic Boy's hand fluttered to his forehead.

"But is he prone to such colourful turns of phrase?" Jazmin bantered.

"No. That's the difference: The copulatory organ is occasionally entertaining."

Kid Quantum grinned over at her lover, "Can't argue with that." Cos had his face in his hands and his shoulders were shaking. She looked up as the door slid open, "Cham!"

"Hi guys!" Chameleon looked around at the blushing, laughing people and the Coluan looking like a cat with a canary feather, "Did I miss Brainy being a dick again?" Even Brainy exploded into laughter.

"And that's the secret to comedy - timing!"

**_"Garth?!_** Is that _you?!"_

Garth waved, "Hi Kid Q."

Everyone gaped. Cos finally found the breath to ask, "Does Imra know?"

"Not yet. We just got the stargates up and running. We're all good, Madame President," Garth ripped off a salute.

Wazzo saluted back, "Thank you, Legionnaire Live Wire. And, good to see you 'in the flesh', as it were."

"Yeah, Garth, how'd you do that?" Cosmic Boy asked, "Jan was turned to crystal, wasn't he?"

Garth nodded, "He was, but remember how he used to transmute himself to wood and whatnot? He could have returned to flesh anytime he wanted to. He just didn't want to."

"What I can't get over is your face!" Kid Quantum said, "I'd've thought you'd look just like Jan but you don't."

"Much of facial distinction comes from habitual expressions and minute muscle tensions," Brainiac 5 explained, "These are subconscious and are a product of personality. Garth resembles Garth because he's Garth."

"I've still got Jan's bone structure and colouring though, so I'm still different," Garth shrugged, "Which is a good time to say, though I don't want to come back to duty just yet, when I do, I'd like to change my code name. I _am_ half Jan now and I'm not the same Garth Ranzz anymore. I'd like my code name to reflect that, so I was thinking of changing it to Lightning Lad."

"I can't think of a better way to honour two great heroes," Kid Quantum said, "Welcome back, Lightning Lad"  
The door opened again and admitted Mother Andromeda and R.J. Brande. Querl immediately went to embrace his wife; Kid Quantum noticed the shimmer in his eyes and the slight shaking before it was firmly suppressed.

"I've caught him up on the situation," Brande told them, "He's resting now." He turned to Querl, "You'll have to evaluate his capabilities. He shows a number of enhancements that the original Vril didn't have."

Querl nodded, "Some of the hardware enhancements on Vril Dox III appear to be inspired by Brainiac 4's computer interface abilities. By the same token, his facial implants appear to have been inspired by my own forcefield generators."

President Wazzo leaned forward on her elbows, "So, we have Brainiac in control of Colu and possibly Robotica as well."

"Definitely Robotica," Andromeda corrected, "Brainiac 4 was right, they're tied in with the anti-organics faction on Colu."

"That may be advantageous," said Brainiac 5, "Brainiac 4 is the 'Living Computer' - she is capable of usurping and controlling any computer. She has remained on Colu to investigate the extent of Brainiac's infiltration and position herself for action."

Brande nodded, "She controlled the Septumvirate Empire for years. This wouldn't be difficult for her."

Querl nodded and continued, "As I said before you came in, Vril Dox III's mental processing speed has been artificially enhanced and they were poised to overwrite his mind with the consciousness of Brainiac, effectively making him Brainiac. His computer interface hardware and enhanced mental process speed would permit him to be interlinked with the robotic Brainiac -- they would then be one mind with two bodies, one in control of Colu, the other in control of Robotica."

Cosmic Boy passed a hand over his pale face, "Thank Valor you nipped that bud off."

"Not quite. Brainiac is still capable of controlling Colu's SleepNet; that's why Brainiac 4 stayed behind. However, provided we can oust Brainiac, the acquisition of Vril Dox gives us an advantage in preventing such an event from recurring."

"How so?" Wazzo asked.

"Colu has relied on the Brainiac lineage for more than a thousand years. Having kicked us off, they've discovered that they can't do without us."

"And when the original came knocking, they rolled out the red carpet," Cos nodded.

Brande nodded, "We train up Vril properly and let him take over leadership. That's the one thing Vril Dox II didn't do, after he pulled down the old Tyrants. It left a vacuum and more of the same ilk stepped in to fill it."

Kid Quantum frowned and looked at Brainy with concern, "But what will that mean for you, then?"

"I will continue my work with the Legion, of course, and pursue a cure for my mother."

"I'd be more concerned for the universe, having three Brainys in it at the same time," Cham quipped, to laughter.

Wazzo laughed as well, then asked, "I assume you'll be informed when your mother is prepared?"

Brainiac 5 scratched his head and looked sheepish, "I'm afraid there wasn't time to work that out. It was imperitive that I remove the ship from Colu as quickly as possible, before it could learn about Brainiac."

"Ship?"

"My mother was in possession of Brainiac's, er, 'headship.' It uses its own instant-transfer method, thus requiring neither stargates nor Thresholds. It functions as an extension of Brainiac, like a second body."

Wazzo's eyes widened with comprehension, "And if his plan is to load himself into organic clones and the Roboticans..."

Brainiac 5 nodded, "If he acquires the ship, there will be no stopping him. For that reason, I must take the ship elsewhere. It is loyal to the descendants of Vril Dox only as long as the original Brainiac is absent."

A hush fell over the room as each person realized what Querl was saying. No one could deny the urgency of his mission, but the prospect of going up against Brainiac without Brainiac 5 was not palatable. Brainiac 5 had fought Brainiac before, in the 20th Century. He was experienced and the Legion knew how he worked. With him out of the picture, they would have only the unstable Brainiac 4 and untried Vril Dox III to assist them.

* * *

They strolled down the halls in silence. Finally Querl looked up at R.J. Brande. "You're the original L.E.G.I.O.N's Durlan. The one who went missing."

"That's me," Brande smiled, "Now you know my secret. I got zapped into the 30th Century, no idea how or why."

Querl nodded, "I always wondered why you took such an interest in me."

Brande smiled wider, "Right again. Always wondered what became of Vril. Stealth was pregnant by him, actually I was on the verge of confirming it, when I was zapped out. So I started looking around for his descendants and what do you know? - I found one."

"And you got me out before the Council's experiments could do permanent damage to me."

Brande nodded, "Brainiac saw the softer emotions as unnecessary, and definitely felt that a conscience was an impediment. When he developed Vril Junior, he editted those out and it appears that some of those edits were inheritable. I did the best that I could with education and it seemed that some of it stuck, maybe quite a lot of it. If I'd had more time with Vril, he might have turned out better."

"But... I have a conscience and a lot of the soft emotions."

"Yes," Brande grinned, "All that cross-breeding and diluting your genes has been breeding them back in. You were much easier to work with and much more successful." He sobered and sighed, "Young Vril though, he's not going to be easy. He's definitely Vril and he has those edits intact. He's going to be very hard to work with and even harder to like."

"So that's what Mother meant, when she said you'd know what to do."

"Yes. I handled him before and I'll do it again. Even in the short amount of time I spent with him, I was able to influence Vril well enough. Hopefully I'll have more time with this one."

The Omnilab door spiralled open and they stepped in to see Vril looking up guiltily from a tangle of computer parts. Querl bristled for a moment then sighed, "Feel free to modify the Omnicomputer to your liking. However, I would appreciate it if you did not touch the modifications that my mother was engaged in making when she was interrupted. They are her project and it is my hope that she will return to complete them."

"Very well," said Vril, and went back to work.

R.J. shook his head with a grin and went to stand beside him, "Say 'thank you', Vril."

The boy looked up and scowled, "What for?"

"Brainiac 5 is giving you permission to touch **his** computer, the computer that **he** built."

"Oh..." the boy frowned then glanced at Querl, "...Thank you."

"You're welcome," Querl acknowledged with a touch of a smirk. Oy._ And they really **are** inherited._ "If you will, please observe the time schedule on the left. Note the time periods marked in red: These are the time periods during which lab explosions are permissible. By agreement with the rest of the Legion, potentially explosive experiments are not to be conducted during meals, during the night cycle or before nine AM. These rules are to the mutual benefit of ourselves and the rest of the Legion."

The boy curled his lip, "You let a bunch of monkeys tell you what to do?"

Querl shrugged, "Failure to adhere to them will entail Saturn Girl giving us a cortex lock, on top of migraines that will last for weeks, and yes she can do that." Brande's hand fluttered to his forehead and his shoulders started to shake.

"Is she a telepath or similar?"

"Oh that's right, the Titanian colony did not exist yet in the era of your memory.. Yes, she is a telepath, quite a powerful one. You will find it difficult to resist her."

Vril sneered, "I am a Coluan."

"More to the point, you are a Dox. And you will find it difficult to resist her." The boy mouthed 'oh.' Querl smiled wryly, "Believe me, it's simpler just to adhere to the rules. If you plan to engage in such experimentation, please wear the alarm bracelet. It's equipped with a taser that will disrupt your concentration if you fail to respond after three alerts." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Losing track of time is not considered to be a valid excuse."

The boy curled his lip again, "Why would you stay where a bunch of jumped-up monkeys are telling you what to do?"

"Oh, the Legion are quite accomodating of my habits..."

"It sounds like it."

"...Whereas the government of Colu kicked me off-world and banned me from ever returning."

"...Oh."

"Legion World's chief engineer even designed my lab so that it's exceptionally difficult to destroy. I'm still working out what it would take, short of deploying a thermonuclear device."

"If only I'd had Chuck when you were working for me, lad," Brande said loyally.

"Mm," said Querl noncommittally, "I cannot say that I regret the time spent at the Time Institute. Rond is still a good friend and I did complete a working time platform."

Vril looked up from the tangle of computer parts, "Time platform?"

Querl pointed, "That's it over there. I would appreciate it if you did not take it joy-riding." He had strolled over to where the boy sat amid the littered parts and examined the project, "Now, if I may ask, what is it you are building?"

"An interface module so I may access the systems directly through my neural network."

"I see. And... how do you know to do that?" The boy looked up at him, puzzled. "You are only hours old. You have only just achieved consciousness for the first time. Vril Dox II, of whom you are a clone, did not have a neural network. So how is it that you know what to do?"

The boy's mouth worked silently, then his expression soured until he looked like he was chewing on a slug. Querl bit hard on a grin but Brande didn't bother. "Oh, he's Vril Dox, alright. Just can't say those three little words."

"The W-word is equally distasteful," Querl agreed and patted the boy's shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't make you say it. It's obvious that you came pre-loaded with_ some_ of Brainiac's knowledge. The question now becomes, how much?" He exchanged a glance with Brande, silently asking the other question, _And how much, now, can we trust him?_

* * *

"Imra? ...Imra? Are you there?"

"Just a second..."

"Okay."

The door slid open and Imra stepped out to take the call, "Was in the lav, sorry."

"No problem," Tinya replied, "I figured I should be the one to let you know... Garth's visiting. They're testing the temporary stargate in the Threshold room, if you want to see him."

Imra turned colours. Her mouth worked silently for a few moments while she agonised. "Y-yes, I... I do, but... not..."

"Not in public?" Tinya guessed, "Do you want me to ask him to drop by your flat?"

"If he's willing."

"Okay. And Imra? I'll support you, whatever you decide."

Imra burst into tears and cut the call.

* * *

The door chimed. Imra patted herself down and fluffed out her hair, took a deep breath and opened it,_ "Brainy?! _Y..."

Brainiac 5 gazed at her with one derisive eyebrow lifted. "You're learning," he observed dryly, "This should only take a few minutes, then you may resume pining about Garth."

Imra blushed and put a hand to her forehead, "Was I...?"

"No. However, as Garth is on station and you have been crying, the conclusion was rather obvious."

Imra winced, "What do you need?"

"A cortex lock." Imra stared at him and he explained about Brainiac and the ship. "Therefore I must remove the ship to another location. It is **imperitive** that the ship not learn that Brainiac is alive and active. Because of its unique navigation interface, I cannot trust that my own mental self-control will be sufficient. I require it to be locked."

"Oh sure, give me a challenge," Imra sighed, "But if I lock that knowledge, you won't know why you have to keep the ship away. What's to keep you from returning?"

"I require only the knowledge that it is Brainiac, to be suppressed. You may permit the knowledge that the ship must remain unknown to Colu, at the directive of my mother, to remain. I wish to research the ship's propulsion systems anyways; you may imply that as a project to pass the time until I am summoned. Also, that it will provide time with my wife, after her miscarriage, and additional time for me to heal."

Imra nodded, "Best to lock it from Laurel as well, if she's going with you. Don't want it coming up in discussion."

"Yes."

"Hang on... does this mean, you won't be here if we need to fight?"

"Yes. Kid Quantum, Cosmic Boy and President Wazzo are already drawing up a battle plan. I have given as much input as I can at this point, however, the more time I spend here with the ship in dock, the more likely it is to learn. It's self-aware and perfectly capable of self-propulsion. It doesn't need a pilot."

Imra nodded, "You said 'until you're summoned;' I'll put that in, that you're waiting to be summoned. Brainiac 4 said she had to get to Altair and used the lab Threshold to get there; that's probably where she kept the ship."

"There is an abandoned Khund military installation there, I believe. Yes, it seems likely," Brainy nodded, "One more thing... A release code, if it becomes necessary."

Imra nodded again, "Yes, and it should be shared by two or three people, in case one gets knocked out."

"It will have to be quite unmistakable, something that cannot be triggered by accident."

"Mmmm... I've got it. Okay. Ready?"

"Yes."


End file.
